Sympathetic Twin

part of "From Point to Departure" at ISSUE Project Room

Brooklyn, NY

April 3 to April 30, 2008

curated by Suzanne Fiol, Gaby Ron & Zach Layton

Sympathetic Twin is an interactive installation that explores the relationship between color and sound while providing tools for the creation of one's own synesthetic system.

Seeing and hearing are like fraternal twins; complements that rely on one another. In Sympathetic Twin, participants are encouraged to move in front of ultrasonic sensors that effect colors projected on a screen and samples of amplified audio. The distance between the sensors suggests that one cannot elicit both the sounds and the colors at the same time, rendering a synesthetic experience nearly impossible without the aid of another person. This feeling is, in the artist's experience, "the feeling of longing for someone I should have known." The sense of absence can be remedied either by quick movement between the sensors or with the help of another person to manipulate the sensors.

Either way, what results is play between sound and light––a place for the body to experience both, both individually and simultaneously. How does one's perception of a given sound change when accompanied by baths of different colors? How does one's perception of a color change when accompanied by different sounds? What is your innate association with a given color or sound? What would you like it to be?

Max/MSP/Jitter Programming: Luciano Azzigotti of cheLA (Conjunto Hipermediatico Experimental Latinoamericano)

Ultrasonic Sensors designed by: Donald Swearingen

Technical Director: Jeremy Wilson

Special Thanks: Gaby Ron, Luciano Azzigotti, Donald Swearingen, Matt Ostrowski, Lihu Roter, Katherine Lang, Niegel Smith, Danya Abt, Jenny Hobson, Einat Manoff, Kate Colby, Pamela Z, Martin Churba, Fernando Garcia Delgado