This interactive sound installation took place at tactileBOSCH art gallery in Cardiff during April 2009.
The Inter-penetration of Opposites; The Logic of Contradiction.
A live demonstration of a law of dialectical materialism.
If a sentient, autonomous agent is oppressed by a system, the agent might feel more free, or
certainly more comfortable by accepting the limits the system has provided, and living
obediently within it’s bounds. If, however, the agent turns to face the system that oppresses him
this comfort will be lost. He will be more directly oppressed and even violently opposed in
consequence of his challenge, but objectively more free than the obedient agent as he takes a step
towards true liberation.
In everyday life, all sorts of information is organised into discreet categories; colours,
musical pitches, animal and plant species, ethnicity and social strata are all commonly perceived
in these terms. This is traditional formal logic, and its important for all sorts of reasons. Its important for us to be able to label the colour – blue – and be able to distinguish it from another – green. Our ability to organise everything around us into easily observable chunks is an absolutely vital faculty. 
However, it is also important for us to step outside this strictly empirical framework and
realise that many of these categories are socially imposed and in some senses false; Colour is
actually a continuous frequency, and in spite of our attempts to consider them as separate
entities, one colour flows smoothly into the next.
To appreciate the world in it’s full complexity, one must take a dialectical approach;
examine the underlying dynamics and laws of motion at work and attempt to understand it as it
unfolds in a constant state of flux. Most importantly of all we must understand that this perpetual
motion is powered by the relationship between opposing forces. The essential point of dialectical
thought is not that it is based on the idea of change and motion, but that it views motion and
change as phenomena based upon contradiction. This piece aims to demonstrate this idea in an
interactive setting and begin to draw out it’s social implications by setting the physical space at
odds with the sound world.
Unfortunately, this video only has mono sound so you don’t get the full effect, but it gives you a good idea of how the mechanism worked. Also, please forgive my dithering at the start of the video and inane chatter throughout. I was nervous…
Gallery
