Underground Vibrational Dialogues (UVD) of Labin is an interactive art installation consisting of four kinetic-light-sound sculptures emitting unhearable low-frequency static waves found in the underground space of Labin coal mines. This sound installation is a mix of such low frequencies and the ambient sounds recorded during my visits to the Labin mines. 

 

UVD explores the concept of vibration through the relationship between space and sound, visible and invisible, and hearable and unhearable. Each sculpture in the installation has a speaker attached to a string lighted by LED lights that visually describe the vibrations of Labins underground. Additionally, the audience can optically change the string movement as they use flashlights calibrated on a specific flickering frequency. The construction and design of each sculpture resemble Davy's lamps used in coal mines for detecting methane gas.

 

The scientific approach used in sound analysis and translating space into sound is based on the physical laws of acoustics, specifically standing waves. These waves manifest as sound phenomenons inside a closed space. As their arrangement and composition change, a unique architectural character determines itself. While introducing the element of light and experimenting with the wave's frequency oscillation, an optical phenomenon is obtained, distinct to this artwork. 

The underground cities of Raša and Labin have a century-old history and architecture that offers conditions in which the relationship between sound, light, and darkness takes on a different meaning.
The dark conditions in which the highly flammable elements of coal dust and methane gas lurk, require caution in dealing with the light source. This is mainly the reason why Davy's lamps, specially designed for methane gas detection, were used in the mines.
Modern atmospheric conditions conducive to global warming correspond to the former underground mining conditions, due to the amount of methane gas.
By equalizing the underground and the above-ground reality, the current atmospheric state is questioned, and it is this art installation that is shaped by kinetic-sound-light sculptures that look like Davy's mining lamps.
The experimental approach used in sound analysis and the translation of space into sound is based on the physical laws of acoustics and sound. By introducing the element of light, and experimenting with its oscillation concerning the frequency of sound, an optical phenomenon is obtained specific to this work. It is this phenomenon that reveals the structures beneath the surface of the visible reality.

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MATERIAL: media players, amplifiers, speakers, threads, LED lamps, frequency generators, magnets, Arduino, metal construction

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DIMENSIONS: 4 sculptures, each with a 100 cm height and 7 cm fi radius

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YEAR: 2020. / 2021.