Altar of Lost Things is a kinetic 5-channel sound installation made up of small motors, found objects, organic remains (skeletons, plant remains, dead beetles), discarded electronic components, and sensors. The work is based on a fascination with the interplay of objects, movements, and sounds. It is a collaboration with Maximilian Kriegleder. Consisting of five altars on which objects are suspended as swinging pendulums, the installation creates changing rhythmic patterns and soundscapes. The objects are set in motion by the stepper motors while accelerometers attached to the objects register the movement. The movement is then sent to a processor where it generates sound in realtime.
We developed this installation together with robotics engineer Maximilian Kriegleder. It was a exciting process of exploring the rhythmic possibilities of the pendulums and the audiovisual relationship between the moving objects and the sounds they generate. The video documents some of the different stages of the project's development..
Sometimes the sounds are close to nature: insect noises, birdsong, or frog croaking. Sometimes they are electronic and mechanical. Sometimes the sound worlds merge, so it is unclear whether the sounds are electronically generated or organic. The work deals with various themes—from nature and technology, to transience and transformation, to the question of how these worlds interweave.
