Around the World / The Probable Flight Path of AF447
2nd July 2010 - 12th September 2010
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The telegraphic relay is the point of union between the symbolic worlds of Marks and Noises. This simple electrical device was the key invention that made possible the sending of messages beyond the limited range of 30 km. By regenerating the feeble electrical currents coming over a distance, the relay made possible almost instantaneous around the world communication. But it also made an audible clicking noise that was used by telegraphers as an audible form of written language, made of sound, but completely apart from the world of spoken language. These telegraphic tappings form the kernel of our communication and information-storage technologies. By using lexical symbols that are simultaneously marks (data) and noises (signals) we encircle the globe in a ring of never ending communication. The difference between the speed of sound and the speed of electromechanical impulses is made palpable by the installation of a 34 relay-long transfer line in the outer chambers of the large water reservoir.
The Probable Flight Path of AF 447 - Installation
A strange sound is produced by the action of dissimilar metals, in this case copper and aluminum, corroding in salt water. It contains deep, fractal rumblings, erratic knockings and “spirit-voice”-like mutterings.
The title refers to the lost Air France flight that went down in the mid-Atlantic on June 1, 2009. Searches for its black-box recorders were unsuccessful, but, being a construction of Aluminum and Copper, the wreck of the airplane may well be generating signals much like this piece does, which might be detected with specially designed listening equipment.
Four metal-corrosion cells, constructed as small aquariums, each placed in one of the four rings of the water reservoir, are individually amplified and sent to a full range speaker and a subwoofer.
The low frequency rumbles activate the spaces of the historical water reservoir in Prenzlauer Berg as subsonic waves travel in the air and interfere with each other. The waves act upon a number of sound responsive circuits that flash on long fluorescent tubes when the sound waves exceed a certain power. Their thresholds are set to just respond to the sounds of the electrolytic cells, producing a flickering light that corresponds mysteriously with the low frequency sounds.