Terrestrial Transmitter
3-part sound object (acoustic and online).
Glass, metal, rubber, sensors, electronics, Geobacter* strain, culture medium.
This sound installation uses energy generated by bacteria to create a generative soundscape. Geobacter* colonies, capable of metabolising metals and converting them into magnetic material, are grown in battery-like vessels. Thus, they generate electrical impulses.
Bioelectric energy from the Geobacter is translated by an automated coding system and inserted in an artificial neural network. The AI, in return, was also fed with human soundscapes collected by INTERSPECIFICS over many years, processes and links the patterns. This generative sound stream is stimulated and modulated by the activities of the Geobacter colonies. We hear the noise of human civilisation in resonance with these microorganisms’ rhythm of life.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
The generated energy, in this piece, is processed through a real-time variational autoencoder system–a neural network sound generator trained from various soundscape databases compiled by the collective during several years. Three objects transmit the generative composition through their speakers. At the same time, an Internet radio signal constantly transmits the processing and synthesizing of data, allowing listeners in the whole world to tap into the stream. The sound design emulates the idea of the soundscape and its textures. The modulations are caused by the voltage variations of the bacteria who, supported by their machine counterparts, will jointly create their own interpretation of an earthly soundscape.” (Interspecifics, 2024)
INTERSPECIFICS
A nomadic multispecies collective from Mexico City, Interspecifics works at the interface of art and science and focuses on hybrid practices with living organisms. Accessibility, open source and a DIY mentality are key elements of their methodology. Interspecifics show how sound and tones can be used to depict the symbiotic interaction of bacteria with plants, fungi, and (last but not least) humans.
*Geobacter (lat. G. metallireducens): Common underground bacterium. These bacteria can survive without oxygen (anaerobic). They help to dissolve toxic compounds by sorting them according to their elements. Thereby, metals, for example, are transformed into magnetic electron receptors that conduct electricity. This feature makes them interesting for both science and ecology.