“Hertzian Field #2” by Stelios Manousakis
Published
Hertzian Field #2
Stelios Manousakis
Performance: introduction and recording
Today, the Earth’s atmosphere has an electromagnetic double: the infosphere. We live engulfed in radio fields, moving through invisible strata as real as the air we breathe. Beyond carrying our data, telecommunications have a side effect: they sense our presence as our bodies absorb, reflect and refract their emissions. Unbeknownst to us, our networks function as domestic radars openly broadcasting information about our spaces and our bodies.
Hertzian Field #2 is an augmented reality immersive sound and movement performance that analyzes the body’s interference on WiFi networks to produce sound. The work deploys an innovative sensing technique devised by the artist, inspired by obscure surveillance research and radio astronomy. In Hertzian Field #2, three WiFi transmitters/scanners form an isosceles triangle, radiating a dynamic electromagnetic architecture at 2.427GHz. As the performer enters the field, the water molecules in their body spins, brought into resonance by radio waves. Electromagnetic energy is transduced into molecular kinetic energy and then heat inside the body, leaving radio shadows behind. The WiFi sensing system is coupled to an audio feedback network surrounding the audience – a sonic mirror of the field – to create an environment in which body, space, movement, sound, and WiFi waves are entangled in a quantum embrace.
Photo credit: ZKM GLOBALE, Karlsruhe 2016
Stelios Manousakis (b. Chania, 1980) is a Netherlands-based artist exploring relationships between time, space, body, system and sound. His work is particularly concerned with the invisible and the ephemeral. His practice lies in the convergence of art, philosophy, science and engineering; extending from performances, to interactive installations to compositions, fixed media pieces, and music for dance and film. Stelios’ work has been shown in five continents, in varied venues & festivals such as ZKM Karlsruhe, dOCUMENTA, Seattle Art Museum, IDFA Amsterdam, Museum of Contemporary Art Vigo, Dag in de Branding, ICMC, NIME, Rewire, Audio Art, and Athens Digital Arts Festival. Together with duo partner Stephanie Pan, Manousakis is the co-founding director and curator of the Modern Body Festival.
Latent City
Latent City presents artistic productions dealing with the city’s hidden stories. Seen through the lens of artistic observation, hidden stories, latent infrastructures and questions of digital presence and of power and democracy in our cities, meet in an exhibition that takes place over three weeks. The Latent City is the city that awaits, the one that is about to unfold, our common future city.
Several of the art projects are financed or commissioned by BEK, while others are existing works presented in new formats. A video program will be on show throughout the project period and there will be an extensive program of talks and performances. Please read more about the project and the programme here.
