solar powered instrument, 2021
I created Shadow Prism to make audible the shifting lighting conditions of seasonal and environmental sun patterns. It’s a portable instrument and doesn’t require external power, so, left unattended, it can create warbling drones indefinitely. It’s also possible to perform with this instrument actively by covering the sensor nodes with fingertips or shadows or by shining artificial light on different facets of the prism. Because of the spherical design, the instrument produces different chords depending upon where the listener is positioned. The impact of this instrument is to create greater awareness of the weather, the sun, and the climate in general, by creating a musical accompaniment to the changing environmental conditions around us.
Special thanks to InterMusicSF and Sl(e)ight Ensemble for commissioning a piece with this instrument for their California Ecology concert program, and to the Djerassi Resident Artist Program for the time and space to develop the prototype.
