Acts of Polarity: Triggers
The human body produces complex electrical activity in several different types of cells, including neurons, endocrine, and muscle cells – all called 'excitable cells'. As with all electricity, this activity creates a magnetic field. One area of study in the field of bioelectromagnetics deals with the ability of living cells and tissues to respond to electromagnetic fields. Every atom has its own electric field, as do all living beings composed of them, and when you put two atoms close together, they can interact (mess around) with the electric field of the other.
In physiology the heart is often referred to as a simple piston pump. In fact there are two additional features that are integral to cardiac physiology and function. First, when the heart contracts in systole, it also rotates and produces torsion due to the structure of the myocardium. Second, with each contraction the heart produces a significant electromagnetic field due to the coordinated depolarization of myocytes producing a current flow. A certain hypothesis even states that the heart functions as a generator of bioinformation that is central to normative functioning of body. Unlike the electrocardiogram, the magnetic field is not limited to volume conduction and extends outside the body, as electromagnetic waves differ from mechanical waves in that they do not require a medium to propagate. This means that electromagnetic waves can travel not only through air and solid materials, but also through the vacuum of space.
As referring to the theory of sound stated in the paper by Manuel Rocha Iturbide – ‘The Expansion of Sound Sculpture and Sound’ on the correlation of sound and space (proposed by several sound artists): 'In installations, sound contributes to delimitate actively a place, reabsorbing the dualist opposition between time and space. One of the principal properties of sound is to sculpt the space'. And as Jio Shimizu states 'it is only by means of the individual sounds existing in the space that the space itself is perceived'. Meaning, that without sound space does not exist. On the other hand, Giancarlo Toniutti writes: 'Phenomena happen in space. Or even better they appear and happen with space, peculiarly with a localized space, and it is at this stage that they receive a meaning from us.'
‘Triggers’ invites you to become part of the installation by entering its field, serving you as an instrument or an extension to your body. It asks you to expose your most inner processes to the public by the means of sound, created with a distinct pattern of motion evoked by charged copper coils and magnets. The concept explores turning electromagnetic waves in to mechanical waves, exposing the quantum properties of our core energy processes while making them sensible to human perception and scale. The installation implies the possibility of interaction between electromagnetic fields of biological entities and how they react and intertwine with space. It poses the questions; to what extent do we as individual atoms do, co-create and mess with each other’s fields, or as implied by the theory of sound even sculpt the space?
The project was shortlisted for the POW SOLO 2020 sound art award
Acknowledgments:
Electronics: Staš Vrenko | Ceramics: Kristina Rutar | Woodwork: Janez Petrič | Metalwork: ScenArt | Produced by: Kersnikova Institute / Kapelica Gallery
The project was co-financed by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Ljubljana and The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia