Anth and Lux

My work is an exploration of the physicality of sound and how it can be an integral structure within an object. My work aims to transcend the perception of sound from a purely auditory experience to one that interweaves the visual effects of soundwaves that are often unnoticed. 

Anth and Lux, are formed of a large steel disc that is supported by a base covered in dry paint pigment. A perspex bowl in the centre of the disc is filled with water to intensify the visualisation of the reverberations emanating from the steel. 

The steel discs of the sculptures are the source of the objects sound. Their circular shape allows the vibrations from the attached motors to travel around the free-flowing edge, creating a visible and audible sound wave. The counter-weighted motors create the sound by vibrating the edge of the steel it’s attached to. I used circles of steel not just for its sonic quality but, in the case of Anth, its eternal edge that when emitting sound commands the surrounding space as the sound appears to charge the surrounding space.

The rippling water is a Cymatic phenomenon that is caused by the vibrations of the sheet steel. Cymatics is the visualisation of frequencies traveling through an object. The water reacts to the vibrations of the steel as circular ripples are created by the sound wave as it passes through the water. I have used a perspex basin of water in the centre of the piece to enhance the Cymatic nature of the sculpture. The ripples are amplified by the sculptures individual spot light as they are projected onto the pigmented base of the sculptures creating an evolving stream of visual information. 

I purposefully left the steel with its own finish apart from hand polishing and buffing to keep it clean. Its small blemishes and scratches are a way of describing the age of the object. The sound varies from quiet breath-like rumblings to a charged group of harmonics that intensify the movements of the steel and water.