speculum rotarius (electronic ghosts)

Text from exhibition Hzchen at Berg26 17.03.10 - 01.04.10 (http://www.berg26.net & http://berg26.blogspot.com/)

speculum rotarius (Electronic Ghosts)

Electronic Ghosts

A sound installation for two rotating mirrors, two loudspeakers, light sources, an interactive psychical system via the software EVP maker and computer.

The installation Electronic Ghosts uses modern methods of EVP researchers, specifically the 'Speech Synthesis Method', such as that developed by German EVP researcher and software designer Stefan Bion. In this method, the spiritual entity is given auditive 'aids' of raw audio material, which by influencing these, can subsequently form words with which to communicate with living beings.

The software EVPmaker gives the EVP researcher options as to how they obtain their EVP recordings, one option is to use the program to arbitrarily cut-up and randomise segments of a sound file to build the raw audio material suitable for EVP. (see diagram) Alternatively and more correctly, Bion suggests the creation and use of a set of phonemes, containing every sound element of a given language upon which the random number generator acts and a raw material which is not speech (just phonemes), can be used to synthesize speech, thus aiding communication with etheric beings. The EVP researcher can choose the source of the random number generation such as Pseudo Random Number Generator (Pseudo RNG), Fractal equation or an Internet service.

The physical set-up of the installation can be viewed as an experiment in the aesthetics of disappearance. Where the nature of visual reflections and the phenomenology of the eye have been contrasted with the nature of acoustic reflections and the phenomenology of the ear in this thesis, the rotating mirror is taken as an attempt to readdress the notion of disappearance. By paralleling the visual and acoustic reflection by placing the speaker facing towards the rotating mirror, where the visitor will also stand, the disappearance and reappearance of both these acoustic and visual reflections is an attempt to treat them equally, in spite of the obvious phenomenological differences.

Auditive material has been sourced exclusively from samples of Michael Jackson. The installation is proposed to function on two levels; for believers of EVP, it is intended that a psychic interaction takes place between the sample of Michael Jackson, via the EVP maker and method of speech synthesis, and the spirit of Michael Jackson. Those with hearing tuned to identify EVP may make out words, phrases or messages from the now deceased Michael Jackson and may thus be able to communicate with his disembodied spirit.

For sceptics of the paranormal, the installation can function as an experiment of psychological projection as outlined in Joe Banks' concept of "Rorschach Audio" or auditory illusions akin to those of Diana Deutsch, as the visitor can attempt or resist the formation of sounds into words with varying meaning. The nature of human perception as "unconscious inductive inferences" (Helmholtz) can be emphasised by this process, in which the ears and brain draw on experience and psychological projection to hypothesise our conception of reality.



Video & audio documentation coming soon...