Ереванский ботанический сад
Երևանի բուսաբանական այգի​

Liudmila Belova

Encoding Emotions 

installation, 2021–2023

The project Encoding Emotions presents a series of ceramic objects depicting neurons. These decorative pieces, designed in the form of invisible nerve cells, do not aim to accurately replicate the structure of the brain or neural networks. Instead, they offer the viewer an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries of human consciousness, inviting them to “look inside” and contemplate how the brain functions, stores memories and emotions, and how the processes of encoding emotions occur from a scientific perspective.

Throughout history, humanity has strived to express its experiences and emotions through poetry, literature, and art — a unique form of “encoding emotions.” One of the most concise and powerful forms of conveying emotions is Japanese haiku. In just three lines, a haiku captures a whole world of complex feelings and deep experiences. Each ceramic neuron in the Encoding Emotions series is paired with its own haiku, which is connected to the visual characteristics of the object — its colors, lines, and patterns. In this way, each neuron-object becomes a unique code, containing a specific emotion, reflected in the combination of visual imagery and poetry.

 

Alexey Grachev

Weather Station 1, Atmospheric-Acoustic Transducer

sound art object, 2012

 

vintage aluminum case, stand, speakers, microcontroller, Arduino programming, Max/MSP programming, Mac Mini, environmental sensors

 

Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Sergei Komarov

Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab

 

Most people do not know what the famous scientist Leon Theremin (author of the electro-musical instrument the Theremin) did during his imprisonment at the design bureau TsKB-29 NKVD (Central Design Bureaux). However, during eight years at that bureau, Soviet science made a giant step forward in developing electrical engineering. That was precisely when Theremin developed the concept of transmitting information using tonal-rhythmic musical drawings. After all, being a prisoner, he understood the importance of connecting with the outside world when the world is invisible and imperceptible… Weather Station 1 is a reflection by Alexey Grachev on how a portable atmospheric-acoustic transducer would have looked if he had created it as an engineer. The instrument's purpose is to observe the state of the atmosphere by transforming data from the sensors into a melody.

 

Elena Gubanova & Ivan Govorkov

Wind of changes 

installation, 2018

 

3D modeling, 3D printing; Arduino, Max/MSP; windsocks, stands, fans, RSS feed analysis, custom-made circuit boards

 

Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Denis Markov, Dmitriy Shishov, Sergei Komarov

Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab

 

This installation visualizes the dynamics of the news agenda and our feelings through the metaphor of the wind. Mounted on aerodrome masts and spaced apart, wind caps face countries most frequently mentioned in real-time news.

 

The installation is an artistic representation of the fluid nature of global affairs and a philosophical reflection on the essence of reality. Like the wind, the news is invisible. Yet, it shapes our perception of the world, never fully revealing its true nature, as if inviting us to question whether we perceive the world as it truly is or if it is merely an illusion in constant flux.

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Kai Lab 

Laser Microphone

interactive sound object, 2019

 

laser, light sensor, custom analog circuitry, aluminium enclosure, water, bubbles

Kai Lab — Designer: Sean Malikides

 

A Laser Microphone functions like a microscope for sound, amplifying the physical vibrations of tiny objects that are otherwise too quiet to hear.

In everyday scenarios, when an A440 tuning fork is struck, it produces the musical note A. This sound is easily detectable by the human ear because the physical size of the tuning fork allows the sound to project at a noticeable amplitude. However, a smaller piece of metal vibrating at the same 440 Hz frequency won't be audible to the naked ear due to its weaker amplitude. In this situation, a Laser Microphone can “see” the minute vibrations of the metal at 440 Hz and project the note A to the user through headphones or speakers.

This technology extends far beyond tuning forks and has been used to capture phenomena such as the movement of insect wings, water spray, and the motion of bubbles.

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Anna Martynenko

Mesozoic

sound installation, 2024

 

pre-recorded audio, microelectronic components, concrete, metal

 

This sound composition is based on research by palaeontologist Ivan Kuzmin.

The project was presented at the Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art (Curators Stas Kazimov and Maria Grabareva) in cooperation with the Paleontological Museum of Saint Petersburg State University (Director Dmitry Grigoriev).

 

Sprouts break through a pile of concrete rubble. We hear sounds from them that might have been heard by living beings 200 million years ago in the Mesozoic era. The concrete fragments are casts of bones from one such animal, a hydrosaurus, found in a dinosaur graveyard located within the city limits of Blagoveshchensk. From the loudspeakers, we hear the sounds of animals and insects that lived at that time, as well as their descendants, whose sounds we can recognise today: alligator, snake, ostrich, turtle, cicadas, etc. Based on these sounds, an artist has created a possible field recording.

Through the bones of the animals that lived in those times, the past sprouts sound in today's urban reality.