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Induction series #1 : String theories
Installation 2012

Concept : Aernoudt Jacobs
Production : Overtoon
With the support of the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), Flemish Community



The induction series started as a framework for a research about electromagnetic induction. The series revisits the laws of electromagnetic induction to produce sounds in different ways. The output of the research is a series of fragile kinetic sound installations that question if sounds can be reduced to formal objects. They look for the potential resonance of objects. The works emphasizes on the transition between visual and audible. What you will see and hear will form the trajectory of your perception. I developed three installations on the same theme of induction.

The work subtitled 'String Theories' consists of sounds that are induced into strings. For this we developed an extended string instrument with a large resonating cabin. Electromagnetic coils are used in conjunction with strong neodymium magnets to produce sounds. The magnets are fixed onto the strings and begin to vibrate because of the induction principles. A laser system with mirrors projects the movement of the strings onto a screen and this produces well-known Lissajous figures. This refers to the first experiments of the 19th century when Jules Antoine Lissajous (1822-1880), a French physicist, developed a method for displaying sound optically by reflecting a light beam from a mirror attached to a vibrating object such as a tuning fork.