“Untitled (sonic cellular automata)” is an installation which translates the usually visual phenomena of cellular automata from computer science into an aural experience.

The installation exists out of one hundered vibration motors, which were placed on a 10x10 grid. When rotating, each individual motor creates a clipping sound through the loose connection of two pieces of metal (the first: a L-bracket holding the motor, the other: the rack holding one row of motors). All vibration motors are turned towards the wall to shift the focus to an acoustic experience. When the installation is activated, 45 percent of the motors (cells) begin virbrating. A microcontroller analyzes the neighboring cells for each motor: An active cell will stay active, if any two of its sourrounding eight motors are active as well. An inactive cell/motor that has exactly three adjacent motors running will also be ativated. These rules are applied to all cells over and over again. The system described is an aural interpretation of John Horton Conway‘s „Game of Life“ from 1970.

dimensions: 6‘ x 6‘ x 2‘