Sonarium
2022
Generative Sound Synthesis
“Sonarium” allows us to “hear” landscapes, prompting contemplation within an artificial auditory ambiance. Within this sonar-vivarium, micro-spatial structures are dynamically translated into sound, offering audiences a unique sensory experience. As the information complexity within the auditory scene accumulates, surpassing cognitive and perceptual thresholds, the connections among interaction, visual cues, and sound start to disconnect and ambiguous. The richness and complexity of sonification over readability, causing a detachment between data and its informational essence. “Sonarium” explores sensory overload and “disconnection” across a vast spectrum of information, from minimal to abundant.
This artwork mixes literal message translated from data with fake audio-visual effect to present a seemingly sonified/visualized art as it bounce on and off the perceivable range of experience, to throw out a skeptical question upon the trends of “data xxxlization” in the art field.
Background
In the scientific domain, the study of sonification has a long-standing history. Typically, sonification is defined as a scientific tool, modifying sound attributes such as amplitude and frequency to reflect the intrinsic qualities of the original data, which improves comprehension of the data. “Data” encompasses attributes like temperature, brightness, and radiation values. Translating spatial or form-based data into sound is also a recognized method, especially in artistic explorations. As a complement to visualization, it offers a mode of translating and expressing information within the auditory spectrum. However, both in visualization and sonification, when these concepts delve into expressive and emotional explorations, there is often a prioritization of the richness and complexity of generated information over its readability, causing a detachment between data and its informational essence. “Sonarium” explores this subjective perceptual “disconnection” across a vast spectrum of information, from minimal to abundant. Furthermore, when discussing interactions, if our influence upon systems is incomprehensible or imperceptible, are interactions still considered as interactions?
Sonarium at 2023 BMAB (Beijing Media Art Binnale)
Sonarium at Spectra PRISM Show
Sonarium - Early Explorations
The sound of generative planets, in a forest.
Sonarium - Dust
Build a little garden, with sound.