String Theory

String Theory
160 cotton strings hang suspended 3 meters high from the ceiling weighed down with a 5 gram lead weight each. An unstable 12 volt elektromotor drives the strings from above resulting in each string oscillating according to its own natural frequency. The amount of strings make it hard to separate the individual string from the collective resulting in a constant adjustment of focus. The soft hum of the motor and the subtle movement of the installation strongly suggest the feeling of an entity being present in the space.

Transfixed
1000 glass marbles lie on a felt covered wooden box. Within the box an unstable motor is positioned in such a way that while it shakes the box the marbles move only in a fixed position. When one would zoom in and slow down the marble appears to jump up and turn. Together they form a constantly shifting pattern of colors. When looking at the work as a whole the marbles seem to have a common goal lying somewhere in a distance. But they are only showing their intentions for they are getting nowhere.

Resonating Bead
A lead bead is suspended along a wooden beam with a contact microphone fixed to it. An unstable motor shakes the beam resulting in an oscilation of the cord with the bead fixed on it. Everytime the bead hits the microphone a gate signal is send to a series of low frequencvy oscillators. Which in their turn send a tone to a series of plate reverbs. The sound of a pure sine wave is amplified five times trough plates of bend alluminium, resulting in a spatial sound with an unclear focus point. The work creates an unstable rhythm. It could be music, but it might as well be a factory or the sound of nature. It is present in the space, silent when you want it to speak and speaking when you long for silence.

Doubting beam
A 4,5 meter long beam with a magenta top sits in perfect balance elevated half a centimeter from the ground. Was it not for an unstable electro motor on one end. The rotating motor vibrates the beam in such a way that it starts oscillating. Every time an oscillation reaches the beams natural frequency its balance shifts. The moment an oscillation reaches the beams natural frequency is unpredictable, resulting in a random tipping motion of the piece of wood. Looking at the work it seems the piece of wood has a personality. It is stuck in time and doesn't know what to do or where to go.

This work was developed during a research period funded by Mondriaan Fonds.