Artistic work addressing synaesthesia and the interrelation of the senses, starting from visual music, has often been based on the notion that light and sound are both vibratory phenomena, one mechanic and the other electromagnetic, and as such can be translated through a system of theoretical correlations or else transduced by technical means one into the other. Beyond the mapping of wavelengths or the routing of signal chains, the underling motivation behind these works is often an ontological question addressing the basic fabric of the physical world through the perceptualization of physical phenomena, a challenge taken up most notably in Hans Jenny’s research in the field of Cymatics. Erfan Abdi’s recent series of works Vibroplasm employs similar techniques to experience vibration through sound, space and the body. In Vibroplasm, long springs act as one-dimensional vibrating elements, which are set into resonance through controlled feedback. Magnets are placed at different intervals along the length of the spring and their mechanical oscillation is converted into electromagnetic energy by pick-up coils. The oscillation of the magnets attached to the spring and picked up by the coils generate an audio signal that is then fed back into the vibrating element through an electromechanic transducer. Each magnet and coil couple excites specific resonant frequencies of the system, which can be manipulated by physically altering the position of the coils and magnets along the length of the spring. Vibroplasm functions as an instrument to explore the phenomena of resonance and make vibration tangible, as well as an instrument that generates trance-inducing sonic tapestries. Performing with the system becomes a collaboration in which the material word appears to act of its own accord and the performer has the freedom to intervene or to spectate. Matteo Marangoni

 

Vibroplasm 1.4