'Magnetic Guangzhou' is a Chinese remake of our previous installation 'Shit I forgot the iPod' commissioned by the British Council for the exhibition Get It Louder 2007, which tours the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Chendu, China.
As with 'Shit! I forgot the iPod!', 'Magnetic Guangzhou' is an electromagnetic environment specifically created for the 'Electroprobes'. The installation presents a chaotic assemblage of electric/electronic objects typically associated with 'Made In China'.
Concept
The various objects are arranged by their electromagnetic tunes in order to create a magnetic 'orchestra' that the user is able to hear with the probes. We wanted to reveal their dreams and inaudible dialogues, while creating an alternative taxonomy of the objects in an apparently chaotic sound organ.
Electronic objects have a wide range of electro-tunes: a fridge is bassy and warm, so is a TV screen. A computer scanner creates a high-pitched whistling. An LED display board sounds like light rain. You can also find percussion in the electromagnetic realm: a wireless telephone will pulse hard bass beats, clocks with seconds will provide damp strokes.
Electromagnetic melodies performed by a drill and a TV, songs of interferences between a neon light and a heater, GPS bass lines with remote control solos, the soundscape created by this apparently chaotic sound organ is various, intriguing and ever-changing.
Design and Development
All the objects have been found in Guangzhou's numerous wholesale markets and are guaranteed genuine. Contrary to our original installation, 'Magnetic Guangzhou' contains a 'new' version of the famous U2 iPod, which comes completed with a speaker and a 2 million pixels camera on the back. We also integrated the famous 'Sony Ericson' mobile phone among other local products unique to China.