This series of work among WITNESS as experience demonstrates the dialogues between past and present. The site and thematic specific narrative depicting historical timeline is incorporated within the soundscape and interactive elements of light, color, speed, rhythm and pattern. These are inspired by several philosophies contemplating rhythmanalysis as a tool to map out rhythm and pattern within everyday life,here in a form of postings such as everyday mundane routines in social media feeds.
THIS IS HOW THE PREVIOUS VERSIONS WORKED: In this series work earlier versions, audiovisual rhythm and pattern are an interplay with the speed of the posts as a reflection from psychological dimensions as a space to provoke self-awareness. In this manner the participation of the audience is embodied in human’s current impulsive sharing in social media- putting an emphasis on the devious nature of the relationship between humans and technology.
In “Lux & Umbra” the soundscape is partly composed from the exhibition related postings in IG and TikTok transformed into speech by a synthetic voice. Retrospectively this work plays parts of two previous works presented in festivals both in national and international context andIG posts from visitors.
As it comes to main thematics of Witness – sha-hed, where the erratic ownerships of these digital scapes are under scrutiny. By following crypto transactions this work aims to illustrate how often invisible actors in power play manipulate the course of the political events. The work seen at “Lux & Umbra” takes two types of crypto transactions under scrutiny: It follows number of transactions per block in the dogecoin chain and cryptocurrency exchanges between the alt-right community owned crypto wallets.
These cryptocurrency events guide interactions of the artwork, where the transformations in the work can be recognized as a change in the sonic atmosphere together with light and color. The self-evolving and adaptive soundscape is composed of elements from both old and new technologies, serving as a portrayal of the relationship between power and surveillance systems. Back in time we were followed by the police officer, teacher, police, church and “The God”.
The generative soundscape consists of sonic elements such as a 35 mm camera shutter, satellite, a submarine, a drone (HESA-shahed 136 (Witness) as a side note : a military drone of Iranian manufactured and been partially merged into Russian drone technology used in Ukraine (now Iran is collaborating with hamas etc. world which will also be considered as problematic for their competition Saudi Arabia etc.), a recording of the F-35 (Lockheed Martin), a NATO vessel, infrasounds from Karjala gunboat, and the church bells of Turku Cathedral and short manipulations of choir and organs. Besides, there’s adaptations of the excerpts of power structures related compositions such as Mozart Symphony No. 36 and Bruckner Symphony No. 4.
The reference to laser lights initiates the connection to the war and security technology along with the aural experience inspired by the military use of parametric speakers, sounds of acoustic weapons and ultrasounds of radars and radio communication.
From a media archaeological perspective the chosen material depicts contemporary media reality. The glass is very present in our daily means and manners of communication. The glass design reaches out for thematic narratives by their design, form and materiality created by the glass designer. The material agency together with their structures follow human-material interaction procedure: The glass pieces both inherently and ambiguously represent transparency and distortion while visuals and laser light controlled by the rate of posts is shot through.
In its core the experiential design of this series of works falls under the theories, disciplines and discourses of politics in HCI (human-material-interaction), embodied interaction, Transhuman inter alia.