DSD-08AS

Electro-mechanical sound installation, 2018 

DSD-08AS is an electromechanical sound installation. 24 modules - each consisting of two solenoids, a metal rail and a metal ball - are building a self-triggering system where the metal ball functions as conductor between the rail and the solenoids. The ball is closing the circuit and electricity is applied to the solenoid, which is pushing the ball back to the opposite side and thereby is cutting itself from the electric flow. This results in an interaction between the two solenoids and multiple loops with different time delays.

There are several factors influencing the sound, beside the mechanical inaccuracy of the solenoids: the friction of the balls on the rails, the characteristic of the wall, the size of the space and the position of the spectator. At the end of a cycle the electricity gets cut and the balls rest in their last position. Leaving the visitor in a silent space where slowly the sound of the surrounding fades back in.