‘Paraboles ulx-56834’ by Swiss collective Fragmentin
Winners of Collide Pro Helvetia 2015
Built from a dismantled telecommunications tower and motorised antenna speakers, Paraboles ulx-56834 by Swiss artistic collective Fragmentin proposes an analogy between breath (spirit) and electromagnetic waves, with the participation of former CERN physicist Veronica Bindi.
Conceived as an “assisted ready-made”, the collective – Laura Perrenoud, David Colombini and Marc Dubois – suspended a 21-metre antenna inside Lausanne’s St-François church. The deliberated choice of recovering and modifying an existing tower follows their current ecological reflections on recycling rather than producing.
The artists incorporated to the tower several antennas modified with motorised and moving loudspeakers. Aiming to make tangible the invisible presence of electromagnetic fields, they invited researchers, poets, and artists to contribute to the thirty-minute loop soundscape. The participants include former CERN physicist Veronica Bindi, whom they met during their residency in the Laboratory; anthropologist Nicolas Nova; sound artists Julie Semoroz and Emma Souharce; poet Francine Carillo, and media archaeologist Yves Citton. “These decentralised audio layers sculpt the air and offer visitors multiple points of view on contemporary subjects linked to the theme of breath and waves”, the collective writes.
In this work, Fragmentin questions the hasty acceptance of new technologies – such as the appearance of 5G antennas – while examining the cultural and social impact of these large-scale installations, which sometimes become archaeological landmarks in our landscapes.
Read more about this work via Fragmentin’s website.
