Sound sculpture, engraved glass cube, score

Decay is a sounding sculpture dealing with radioactive decay processes in extreme periods of time, which are beyond our human perception, lifespan, and imagination. The sculpture is calculated to play for 20402 years.

By German law radioactive waste must be stored safely for one million years. Through an artistic engagement Decay aims to arrive at a better understanding of time periods of this extreme extent.

Decay’s pulse generator is a slightly radioactive uranium glass. For each radioactive decay detected by a specially designed geiger counter, a droplet is released from the electronically controlled valve in the head of the column, falls onto the top metal plate causing it to vibrate. This vibration resonates in the plates below, which are connected by transducers and microphones in a complex network of electroacoustic feedback.

As time progresses, the droplet changes the resonant properties of the metal plates. Exposure to oxygen and water causes the metal to begin to rust and dissolve after a calculated time, causing the droplet to hit the plate underneath, which has a different tuning. It is a slow but steady process of decay; the sounds decompose continuously and die slowly.

• Sektion Section: Exhibition
• Programm Programme: Trembling Time