Prix
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Fluid Anatomy
Powered by water and air, Fluid Anatomy unveils a analogue computer that guides fluids in a dynamic interplay of movement, pressure, and resonance. Swirling streams, pulsing jets, and air bursts are passed in a system of entangled elements, transforming the space into a living hydropneumatic circuit where computation unfolds in tangible form.
Guided by the Coandă effect, water courses through a branching network of tubes and adheres to convex fluidic morphologies. Form follows function. Each cavity’s contours shifts the stream to a different outlet. A large oscillator clocks the system, a pulse shaper induces vibration and Sensors trace fluidic presence. Circuits comprised of ‘fluidistors’ (fluidic transistors) and logic gates, count, store, compare, subtract, and sum. Parallel air paths drive fluidic oscillators, generating cascaded sound frequencies.
The installation exposes over 20 specific fluidic forms restored from old patents and archives, forming a system that prioritizes organic movement over speed. Fluidics, or fluid logic, emerged in the 1950s, using fluid jets for operations akin to electronics. Intricate, cavities became radiation-resistant switches, powering automation, spacecraft, and heart valves. In 1964, Univac introduced FLODAC, the first fluidic digital computer. Yet, as speed and miniaturization became paramount, fluidics faded into obscurity.
Taking fluidics as a future alternative to electronics, Fluid Anatomy reveals a parallel history in which technology is transparent and resonant while tuned in function to the natural rhythms of fluid flow. Transparent plates and tubes make calculations visible, inviting the public to walk among fluidic bodies, listen to circulating streams, and witness an evolving rhythm of computational motion and sound.
Links: https://www.ioanavrememoser.com/fluid-anatomy
Produced & curated by: singuhr projekte
Technical support: Dorian Largen
Production support: Jan Rohmer, FabLab.ro
Scientific Advice: Dr. Benjamin Bühling.
With support from: Musikfonds e.V. (DE); Bezirksamt Pankow, Berlin (DE).
Research conducted at: Tangible Music Lab & hosted through Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz
Ioana Vreme Moser (RO) is a Romanian sound artist interested in hardware electronics, speculative research, and tactile experimentation. In her practice, she uses rough electronic processes to obtain different materialities of sound. She places electronic components and control voltages in different situations of interaction with her body, organic materials, and environmental stimuli. Vreme Moser’s works feature personal narrations and observations on the history of electronics, and their production chains, wastelands, and entanglements in the natural world.
Fluid Anatomy by Ioana Vreme Moser uses air and water to create a new kind of computation. This installation uses technologies from the mid-20th century to show how circuits can be made from pressure, flow, and resonance. It has tubes, pulses, and murmurs that visitors can see, hear, and feel. This makes computation visible and audible. The work is special because it looks at the past and challenges ideas about technology. Instead of making us feel nostalgic, it shows us a different path for technology. One that is slower, softer, and more connected to the real world. For its critical engagement with alternative technologies and for inviting us to rethink what computation can look and feel like, Fluid Anatomy is commended by the jury in the Artificial Life & Intelligence category.