SONIC WATER

source: emptykingdom

Just looking a little bit closer at our natural world, can always ignite a sense of magical wonder. SONIC WATER is an insightful installation-based short by Sven Meyer // Elfenmaschine and Kim Pörksen // PIECE OF CAKE. Detailed background info can be read as follows:

“Sonic Water is a cymatics installation.
Cymatics is the process of visualizing sound and vibrations through matter, such as for example sand or water.

In the beginning there was sound.
The reason cymatics exerts such a strong fascination is that we are not conditioned to “see sound”. Cymatics is like a magic tool that unveils the true substance of things audible, but conventionally invisible. With it one can recreate the archetypes of different forms of nature. So sound does have form and cymatics enables you to comprehend that it not only affects but causes form in matter.
In fact, we think sound had a fundamental influence on the formation of the universe itself. But that is another story.
Primarily, we are fascinated by the simplicity of this subject.
All it takes is sound and a very basic medium such as water to create… well, what could be (and in our view is) the coolest sound visualizer.

How does it work?
Our installation at the Photography Playground in Berlin consists of two different areas. A self-running installation and a DIY water-sound-image laboratory where people can experiment with their own cymatics. The setup in both areas is almost identical. The only difference is, that you can use your own camera and create your own soundscapes in the DIY laboratory. The installation is very simple: A sound signal is used to vibrate a speaker. On top of the speaker membrane we have applied a plate and on the plate we have then glued an ordinary bottle cap. The bottle cap (or the whole plate) is filled with water. The water works as a flexible three-dimensional sculpture mass, that translates the sound into pictures. The vibration of the speaker creates one of a kind water-sound-images in response to the respective sound impulse – from chaotic patterns to standing mandala-like waves. The camera films the speaker from above and basically shoots a macro mode live view of the bottle cap action which is projected onto a large screen.
When people enter the room they initially just see the big screen cymatics projections. However, once they approach the cube with the speaker they suddenly grasp the setup and have this moment of incredulity and utter bewilderment, that a setup as simple as ours can create such astounding visuals. But this part of our installation is actually just an incentive or an ice breaker.
Our actual intention is for the audience to have fun in the laboratory, where they can create and document their own cymatics.
In the DIY laboratory you clamp a Olympus OMD camera on the stand, which you get upon entering the exhibition and you can then film or take photos of the water-sound-images you create by means of sound signals from a synthesizer, by using your own voice (via a microphone) or by just playing your favorite song on your smartphone.

What does it look like if you hum your favorite tune into the microphone? What does Wagners “Twilight of the Gods” look like in cymatics? The results are images reminiscent of the shape of flowers, the form of a starfish, the patterns of turtleshells, cell division, the golden ratio, the flower of life – all depending on the individual frequency impulse. In the laboratory you become the creator, the big bang and part of the genesis.”
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source: creativeapplicationsnet

Sonic Water by Sven Meyer & Kim Pörksen is an installation currently on show in Berlin’s Olympus Photography playground. The exhibition explores sound in visual form where visitors can interact with a small container of water positioned inside the speaker. Simultaneously as the sounds change, the camera located above the container provides instant feedback as projection. Depending on the frequency of the sound and the fluids added to the mix, new patterns are constantly regenerated. From chaos becomes order reflecting the harmonic laws of nature.
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source: buzzapjp

水面に揺れるさざ波の美しい模様、思わず見入ってしまいます。この「Sonic Water」は、音楽の振動が作るそんな水面の動きを使った美しいインスタレーションです。

Sven MeyerさんとKim Porksenさんによって作られた「Sonic Water」は音楽の振動によって作られる水面の細かな振動をカメラでキャプチャして増幅し、プロジェクターによってスクリーンに映し出すインスタレーション。音の変化によって水面の模様も変化し、それに連れて映し出される映像も刻一刻と変化していくというインタラクティブな作品です。映像の美しさはぜひ動画でご覧ください。