TBA is a new collaboration with Andrew Brown, Danny Della-Bosca, and Tim Tate. This interactive installation is designed to be installed outdoors and is currently being developed towards a 2023 premiere. TBA uses human kinetic action and energy transference to explore the production of electronic sound and light in a highly physical manner. Each element is hand-powered, this reinforces our personal connection with electricity production at a time when societal methods of energy generation are in transition.
I mocked-up an indicative demonstration of the fun/lively electronic sound-world that could result when participants interact:
Energy is produced by turning a crank attached to a dynamo within the device which, in turn, produces a low voltage current powering bespoke electronic circuits, amplifiers, motors, and speakers. Each device is completely stand-alone, requiring only human energy to activate. Individual devices will be arranged at various heights to facilitate participant engagement across all ages and abilities. Electronic circuitry explicitly responds to the power generated by audience participation. Bespoke handmade circuits then modulate electronic pulses of sound and light. Science principles at the foreground of the work include energy generation and transfer, electronic circuit design, audio acoustics, internal illumination, and detailed electronic schematics on the housings. The overall visual aesthetic is inspired by early twentieth century electrical enclosures and the imaginations of Nikola Tesla and Raymond Lowey.
Indicative concept design renders by Danny Della-Bosca:
The work will be presented as a small ensemble of devices, the sonic output of each will be tuned to provide the overall ensemble with a pleasing range of sonic characteristics. TBA will be arranged in relative proximity to be played as an ensemble by multiple participants.
As part of this project we intend to run several handmade electronic instrument workshops. The goal is to offer a practical manifestation of scientific principles that will also prove fun and illuminating. Participants will assemble and ‘play’ small-scale electronic instruments that are based on the same circuitry that is inside TBA. These workshops will revolve around a six-voice synthesiser that utilises a single integrated circuit (40106 AKA Hex Schmitt-Trigger) and a small amplifier (LM386). The focus is practical, but the workshop will allow us to introduce participants to basic electronics theory (passive electronic components/digital logic chips) and the principles of electronic sound generation and creative manipulation (oscillators, sound modulation, and amplification). It is intended that an ensemble of hand-made instruments will perform the results of each workshop. A version of what we intend is used in teaching at QCGU, see the following link for an overview: http://www.johnrobertferguson.com/hst1d-feral-technologies/