11. The Static Sound Garden: An Auditory Adventure in Electricity
With her installation “The Static Sound Garden,” sound artist and composer Rachel Lee has produced a singular aural experience whereby a gallery space becomes an immersive soundscape driven totally by stationary electricity. Lee’s installation consists of a range of especially created “sound sculptures,” items of varying forms, sizes, and materials that emit noises when charged with stationary electricity. Their own stationary charge interacts with these sculptures as guests wander across the area to create a symphony of clicks, hums, and murmurs. Lee’s work especially intrigues us since it questions our view of sound and its sources. The Static Sound Garden enables guests to pay close attention to the faint electrical sounds typically overlooked in our daily life. Lee has also included a learning component into the exhibit with interactive panels explaining the science underlying the sounds and motivating guests to try producing their own stationary-powered music. The Static Sound Garden is a quite interesting and provocative experience that shows the underlying musicality of the surroundings by combining art, science, and education.
12. Electrostatic Illusions: Bending Reality with Static Charge
With his mind-bending series “Electrostatic Illusions,” which uses static electricity to produce visual effects that seem to violate the laws of physics, illusionist and visual artist Michael Zhang has pushed the envelope of perception. Large translucent chambers packed with especially treated particles responding to electrostatic charges abound in Zhang’s creations. Zhang can create objects seem to float, alter shape, or even vanish totally by precisely regulating these charges. A “static waterfall” where streams of charged particles flow upward, giving the impression of water defying gravity, is one of the most remarkable works in the series Visitors to the show are urged to interact with the installations, therefore affecting the illusions with their own stationary charge. Zhang’s works challenge our conception of reality and perspective in addition to highlighting the creative possibilities of stationary electricity. Electrostatic Illusions enables spectators to challenge their senses and contemplate the hidden energies that create our world by adjusting the invisible forces of electrostatic charge, therefore concluding this study of static electricity in art in a relevant manner.
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