An interactive and performative sound system between nature and artificial materials

Concept

This project is a participatory sound installation and performance instrument, developed using SuperCollider and algorithmic composition. Sensors integrated into living trees and industrial materials capture real-time biophysical data, which is transformed into sound by nonlinear generative algorithms. Interactions with natural elements produce organic sonic textures, while industrial materials generate mechanical and fragmented sounds. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the Body without Organs, the work functions as a distributed sound system, without a fixed structure or centralized control. The installation is modular and adaptable to different spatial contexts: its scale can be adjusted, and the sensors can be connected to locally available organic and industrial materials, thus blurring the boundaries between installation and instrument, nature and industry, and audience and performer.

[YOUTUBE:vp4jUPRgl_E] [YOUTUBE:rIrIKH-Jq-8:9:16]

Medium

Materials: asphalt, cement, steel pipes, branches, dust, stones, capacitive sensors, speakers, Arduino Uno

Technologies: SuperCollider, capacitive sensing, physical computing

Dimensions: Variable, depending on installation site

Photo Credit: Dorota Grajewska

Tech

Arduino and SuperCollider are used to build a real-time sensing-and-sound pipeline. Capacitive signals from touch and proximity are mapped to synthesis and sample parameters, including oscillator frequency, filter cutoff, and playback speed.

Natural objects (trees, stones, stumps) and industrial materials are electrically linked as hybrid controllers, so gestures on matter directly shape sound. The result is an unstable but expressive sonic system co-produced by human action, physical material, and computation.