Multiverse of a Birdcage

Multiverse of a Birdcage is a collaborative project by Alexandre Joly, who created the speaker panels, and Daniel Zea, who designed the sound diffusion interface. The installation consists of 17 suspended speaker panels forming a 17-voice spatial sound system. This hybrid acousmonium contains around 1,500 piezo sensors – tiny discs that vibrate when receiving a signal. Attached magnetically to steel rods and interconnected with copper wires and piano strings, the visible circuitry sketches graphic compositions that evoke the aesthetics of experimental lutherie. These sound-diffusing instruments subtly colour the audio with delicate reverberations, which unfold as the panels move through space. Like an intimate listening salon, Multiverse of a Birdcage invites visitors to explore a multiplicity of sonic worlds. The collective instrument plays a growing repertoire of sound pieces – currently 40 works – which expands with each presentation. Joly and Zea regularly invite artists to contribute new compositions designed to be broadcast through the system. For KorSonoR, four artists-in-residence will each create a new piece over the course of a week: Olga Kokcharova, Sergei Leonov, Jiwon Seo and Emma Souharce. Their works will be premiered in a live concert within the installation. In addition, Joly and Zea will each present a live set on a Thursday evening.