Wolken. Elektromagnetische Klanginstallation (Clouds. Electromagnetic sound installation) (2012) – Christina Kubisch

electromagnetic sound installation with recordings of magnetic fields in ZKM
1200 m electric cable, metal rods, induction headphones, 6 amplifiers, 6 DVD players, 12 resistors on metal plates, 240 × 340 × 150 cm, audio engineering: Eckehard Güther, production: ZKM | Karlsruhe
Christina Kubisch

Christina Kubisch

*1948 in Bremen (DE), lives in Hoppegarten near Berlin (DE)

Christina Kubisch works with special induction headphones that she developed, which help make audible electrical fields that exist around us but cannot be perceived by the naked ear. The title of the electromagnetic sound installation Wolken denotes more than just a meteorological phenomenon. Since the mid-2000s, metaphorical data clouds have formed: public clouds, private clouds, hybrid clouds and community clouds. These terms stand for the evolving worldwide delivery models of information technology.

A preoccupation with the visible and the invisible is one of Christina Kubisch’s main themes: “Nothing sounds the way it looks. Nothing looks the way it sounds.” By translating magnetic fields into the audible range, the artist enables us to experience sounds that are hidden, casually perceived, or unheard. The intensification of the recorded sound material is essential to the generation of sonic atmospheres.