Messenger, signals from space | Neural Magazine #60

Messenger, signals from space

« The mystery that envelops the Universe for how – so little – we know it, has attracted the intellect and the imagination of people of all ethnic groups and religions. This installation by Flavien Théry seems inspired by this theme. He launches a nostalgic look at the utopia of the space age that has characterised the past decades. It consists of two « disks », the celestial planispheres of the two terrestrial hemispheres on which magnets draw the main stars and constellations visible respectively from the southern and northern hemispheres. Each disk can rotate on itself, while a sensor arm, like an old vinyl needle, « reads » the magnets, or rather, « reads the stars » of the known universe. In this way it can send sound signals to the public. The viewer is placed in the listening conditions and is left to modify the synthsizer’s parameters, thus allowing them infinite variations and interpretations of the sound of the « message » : the illusion that the Universe speaks to each of us and the responsibility that this could entail. »

Benedetta Sabatini

Neural Magazine #60