The mechanical instrument as seen at the end of the information age : In a time when all things are wirelessly connected, I’d like to stand still, see and hear how an object that is not of this time reacts to this. How can a visible object relate to the invisible? Ever-present waves that fly through the air are picked up by the antenna and translated to the strings of a grand piano.

The antenna receives both distant electromagnetic waves (spherics, thunderstorms,…) and nearby waves (cell phone, motor of a passing car,…). The collected unseeable taps from the electromagnetic spectrum are converted back into electromagnetic vibrations via coils with copper windings that make piano strings vibrate.

Credits
Software defined radio programming by Dieter Verbruggen, doctoral researcher at KU Leuven.
Electromagnets by Dr Andrew McPherson, professor at Queen Mary University of London and inventor of the magnetic resonator piano. Co-production between KIKK, STUK - Huis voor Dans, Beeld & Geluid, KU Leuven CCHA and Overtoon