Turns is a series of interactive generative music installations based on impossible physics — part music box, part windchimes, part video game. Glowing spheres bounce endlessly around a series of frictionless digital environments, sounding a note each time it collides with a surface. Users can rotate the environment to change the direction of gravity, but the spheres will continue to bounce endlessly regardless of user input. One could think of Turns as a series of instruments that play music with or without a musician.
For the 2023 Currents New Media Festival, I propose to construct a physical installation around Turns, bringing a tactile physicality to the otherwise purely digital experience. Each Turn would be displayed on a flatscreen monitor affixed to a turntable, with an accelerometer rotating the virtual world along with the screen. Each Turn is tuned to the same key, so while they each work as a standalone object, they work best as an ensemble — like a Gamelan playing in freetime.
Because of the modular, iterative nature of Turns as a series, there are few “must haves” as far as installation is concerned. Depending on the accommodations available, the installation could be tabletop or wall-mounted (or, if need be, could simply sit on the floor), and could include anywhere from three to twelve screens, with footprints for each piece ranging from 6”x6” to 24”x24”. Volume for each Turn can likewise be adjusted to fit the needs of the space. Power for the entire installation could be run from a single surge protector to a single outlet, which I could provide myself. The piece is meant to be as minimally invasive as possible, to fit comfortably into in-between spaces, and to take up as much or as little space as desired.