Chimera States: Synchronicity exhibition at EPFL, Switzerland
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Robin Meier Wiratunga, André Gwerder, Guy Amichay Inspired by a Steven Strogatz’s SYNC, I conducted an experiment in 2015 to synchronise live fireflies with LEDs in a mangrove forest in Thailand. This resulted in a film and an exhibition at Art Basel that same year. In turn, a team of mathematicians in Chicago, motivated by this science-inspired artwork, invited me to join them on their research trip to Thailand in 2022, to revisit the same firefly colonies and study, once again, their mysterious synchronising behaviour. Interestingly, the mathematical models used so far to model and simulate the fireflies hypnotic displays didn’t quite capture the complexities observed in our footage. So Guy Amichay, Danny Abrams and their collaborators analysed our footage and are now in the process of capturing new spatial data of synchronising fireflies. This will allow them to create new mathematical models, that fit more closely to the behaviour seen in the field. One of these newly described synching behaviours is called a Chimera State. New recordings and many discussions about biology, mathematics, art and aesthetics led to a new series of works: photographic prints, a 16mm film, ultrasound recordings and this new multichannel video: Chimera States, shown at the EPFL Pavilions in Lausanne, Switzerland during the Lighten Up! Exhibition in 2023. Deconstructing narratives of control and nature-culture divisions, this experiment tries to establish a different kind of communication. Like a brain scan of the mangrove mind, LEDs, computers, and fireflies harmonise as a collective mind to become a new kind of hybrid being.
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Relaxation Exercises for the Apocalypse
Inhale, exhale and relax for the ultimate apocalypse. Embark on an astral projection to the astrophysical end of the universe.
Relaxation Exercises for the Apocalypse
Inhale, exhale and relax for the ultimate apocalypse. Embark on an astral projection to the astrophysical end of the universe.
Apophenia – Meaningful Connections Between Things
A neuroscientist, a dancer, a pigeon fancier and a string trio connect neuronal patterns in the brain with patterns in bird flocks, dance, music and language : “neuromancer meets ornithomancer”.
Apophenia – Meaningful Connections Between Things
A neuroscientist, a dancer, a pigeon fancier and a string trio connect neuronal patterns in the brain with patterns in bird flocks, dance, music and language : “neuromancer meets ornithomancer”.
Synchronicity (16mm)
16mm photographic film was directly exposed to the light of two captive fireflies (Pteroptyx malaccae). Inside a dark space, without camera or optics, the insects were simply placed on an analogue film strip.
Synchronicity (16mm)
16mm photographic film was directly exposed to the light of two captive fireflies (Pteroptyx malaccae). Inside a dark space, without camera or optics, the insects were simply placed on an analogue film strip.
Singing with the Insect Choir: A culicomorpha swarm reacting to voices of two scientists
In 1861, the entomologist Osten-Sacken refers to a Cuban naturalist who once told him that whenever the note ‘A’ was played by a band, the swarm of mosquitoes hovering over his head suddenly flew downward toward his face. More recently, during their research on mosquitoes and chironomids, scientists Lionel Feugère and Gabriella Gibson also noticed how these insects react to the sound of their voices. A musical relationship unfolds as night falls on the marshes of Northward Hill in northern Kent.
Singing with the Insect Choir: A culicomorpha swarm reacting to voices of two scientists
In 1861, the entomologist Osten-Sacken refers to a Cuban naturalist who once told him that whenever the note ‘A’ was played by a band, the swarm of mosquitoes hovering over his head suddenly flew downward toward his face. More recently, during their research on mosquitoes and chironomids, scientists Lionel Feugère and Gabriella Gibson also noticed how these insects react to the sound of their voices. A musical relationship unfolds as night falls on the marshes of Northward Hill in northern Kent.
Truce (Concert Version)
Concert for live mosquitoes, Dhrupad singer and Ondes Martenot
Dreamachine
During la Nuit Blanche in Paris, Dream Machine transformed the Paris Art Lab pavilion into a hypnotic sound installation. This concert-installation channeled the ghosts of Brion Gysin, Marian Zazeela and La Monte Young propagating clouds of psychedelic beat culture into the parisian air. Several musicians connect with this sensorial experience through a series of concerts – a trip to be enjoyed with your eyes closed.
Dreamachine
During la Nuit Blanche in Paris, Dream Machine transformed the Paris Art Lab pavilion into a hypnotic sound installation. This concert-installation channeled the ghosts of Brion Gysin, Marian Zazeela and La Monte Young propagating clouds of psychedelic beat culture into the parisian air. Several musicians connect with this sensorial experience through a series of concerts – a trip to be enjoyed with your eyes closed.
Satie Variations (Offspring)
Satie Variations is a generative composition commissioned by Pierre Huyghe for a new version of his Untitled (Light Show). The composition is a custom algorithm based on a recurrent neural network (Performance RNN, Max, Bach library, etc.) and is trained to play infinite variations of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies 1 & 3.
Satie Variations (Offspring)
Satie Variations is a generative composition commissioned by Pierre Huyghe for a new version of his Untitled (Light Show). The composition is a custom algorithm based on a recurrent neural network (Performance RNN, Max, Bach library, etc.) and is trained to play infinite variations of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies 1 & 3.
Collective Feeding
In 2014, Dutch authorities began to kill a small population of house crows (corvus splendens) near the Port of Rotterdam. The crows likely arrived from Sri Lanka around 1994 as stowaways on a commercial container boat. Apparently, international trade in a country is now understood to be the most reliable predictor of the number of introduced species found there. The house crows were all killed, except for one that found shelter in a Dutch apartment.
Collective Feeding
In 2014, Dutch authorities began to kill a small population of house crows (corvus splendens) near the Port of Rotterdam. The crows likely arrived from Sri Lanka around 1994 as stowaways on a commercial container boat. Apparently, international trade in a country is now understood to be the most reliable predictor of the number of introduced species found there. The house crows were all killed, except for one that found shelter in a Dutch apartment.
The Vanishing Actor
A contribution by Bastien Gallet and myself to a special issue of Architectural Design (Volume 87, Issue 4 – July 2017) edited by Skylar Tibbits, “AD Autonomous Assembly: Designing for a New Era of Collective Construction“. PDF link below:
The Vanishing Actor
A contribution by Bastien Gallet and myself to a special issue of Architectural Design (Volume 87, Issue 4 – July 2017) edited by Skylar Tibbits, “AD Autonomous Assembly: Designing for a New Era of Collective Construction“. PDF link below:
Synchronicity (NYC)
Synchronicity (Thailand) is shown at Arsenal Contemporary NY – 214 Bowery – from 6 March to 22 April 2018. Press Release Article in Whitewall 39 must-see shows in artnet Thank you Pierre and Anne-Marie Trahan, Isabelle Kowal, Loreta Lamargese, Elise Gallant and last
Synchronicity (NYC)
Synchronicity (Thailand) is shown at Arsenal Contemporary NY – 214 Bowery – from 6 March to 22 April 2018. Press Release Article in Whitewall 39 must-see shows in artnet Thank you Pierre and Anne-Marie Trahan, Isabelle Kowal, Loreta Lamargese, Elise Gallant and last
