In the sound installation umwandler, Nika Schmitt experiments with the idea of an autonomous system of energy generation and conservation. The work consists of a sort of huge electromagnetic coil installed inside Berlin’s Water Reservoir, an empty and bombastic circular subterranean space with vaults over 40 meters high. Starting with a three-phase current generator, energy is propagated through wiring that runs throughout the space and it is amplified by various speakers. The mechanical vibration of sounds modified by the reverberations and echoes generated by the empty space, returns to the generator and the initial electromagnetic field in a continuous chaotic and irregular cycle of energy transformation. The energetic processes are transformed into sonic processes. This continuous change gives rise to a sound environment: bursts and gurgles makes the entire architecture pulsate as if it were an ancient vital organ awakened and eager to be the protagonist of a virtuous cycle of self-sufficiency and self-determination.
 

 

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