Documentation of the Sonic Network no.8 installation at Substation, Melbourne Australia.
Sonic Network no. 8 presents a shifting sound and visual experience, initiated by the interplay of Aslanidis optical painting and May’s immersive soundscape .
The painting, Sonic Network no. 8, contains a grid relative to a set of mathematical intervals that Aslanidis uses to create a drawing of compositional intervals, similar to a musical score. May has written an algorithm—using a programming language for sound synthesis, called “SuperCollider”—that determines the characteristics and timing of the sound in relation to the intervals. Taking into consideration the structure and composition of the painting, May emulates the mechanisms of painting by responding to the moiré (wave-like) patterns, which are demonstrated via audio interference of the sine waves (known as beat frequencies) in the sound piece. The sine wave tones created are thus audio representations of the circular forms, geometric shapes, and reverberating patterns inherent within Aslanidis’ piece.
The Sonic Network series is part of an ongoing international collaboration between Aslanidis and
May with installations staged at Dr Julius Gallery, Berlin in 2011, plus at New York’s White Box Gallery & Kunsthalle Beacon in Upstate New York during 2012. Sonic Network no.11 + a composition by Brian May is on permanent display in the Hamer Hall, Victorian Arts Centre Melbourne.
