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We acknowledge the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which Articulate stands. We are open Fri-Sun, 11am - 5pm. 

Opens on Jul 29 until Aug 13, 2023

Downstairs  | 04

Ben Denham

 Single Blade Feedback (Signal Flow), 2023 

 

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 Native grass, servo motor, microcontroller, C-stand, accelerometer, modular synthesizer, light projector, speakers, stereo sound. 


Overview: a blade of grass, a servo motor, an accelerometer, and a synthesizer interact in a feedback loop. The small shifts that you see and hear are produced by the system as a whole. This work is an invitation to tune in to small variations in sound and movement that emerge from a dynamic system. Signal Flow: a servo motor moves back and forth, through a fraction of a revolution. A piece of ribbon cable with an accelerometer attached to its end, dangles from the shaft of the motor. The ribbon cable and accelerometer collide with a single blade of grass. These collisions with the grass, along with the movement of the servo motor, create a corresponding voltage in the accelerometer that is fed into the synthesizer. This voltage from the accelerometer influences a number of synthesizer parameters including the timing of a cycling voltage. This cycling voltage is combined with the voltage from the accelerometer, together they complete the feedback path by driving the movement of the servo motor.


This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

Artist profile

Ben Denham grew up in the Blue Mountains and studied visual arts at the University of Western Sydney. He currently lives near the Cooks River, in Sydney’s inner west. These geographical locations are part of a series of performance video works in which Ben reflects on his relationship to where he lives. Another thread of his practice involves making machines to explore new ways of interfacing with the process of drawing and writing. He is currently working with synthesizers to create kinetic sculptural works, drawings and installations. He sees this as a form of expanded synthesis that can help us to understand the broader cultural significance of the synthesizer and its relationship to art, science and philosophy.
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