Audire Fluctus

Spektraflux / EN AW-6061 T6 / PMMA / pump / microcontroller. Microcontroller STM32G041C8T6, Wi-Fi module ESP-01S, ROVER 20 CE pumps, power LED strips Result is a continuous projection of water micro-world.


SeriesPhantasma Electromagnetica
ID2024-PE-AUF-01
Date of origin9.10.2024
TechniqueSpektraflux / EN AW-6061 T6 / PMMA / pump / microcontroller
Dimensions5500 × 7000 mm
Duration20 min cycle
SoftwareFirmware in C (STM HAL), STM32 Cube IDE, Matlab (for scenario generation)
HardwareMicrocontroller STM32G041C8T6, Wi-Fi module ESP-01S, ROVER 20 CE pumps, power LED strips
Data sourceMeasurement of electromagnetic activity around the sculpture using DIY Priezor — open source antenna
InteractionMapping of technological activity of urban infrastructure
Location of originSignal Festival 2024 / Náměstí Václava Havla / Prague / Czech Republic
Type of exhibitionFestival installation
CuratorPavel Mrkus
AwardSelected in Signal Calling 2024 competition
CollectionSignal Creative
PhotoTomáš Slavík, Dušan Vondra
Author of textKryštof Brůha
Collaboration
Signal Festival and PrusaLab (Josef Průša’s prototype workshop)
Project leadLeoš Hort
ElectronicsAleksandar Ristić
MechanicsŠimon Stupka
ThanksPrusaLab (Josef Průša, Ondřej Kašpárek, Tereza Vanikova, Stanislav Wasserbauer, Vít Poula, Pavel Kordík, Petr Bednář, Matyáš Kuruc, Jiří Tyl); Signal Festival (Martin Pošta, Daniel Burda, Alžběta Krajčíková, Tomáš Vondráček, Stefan Motika, Marek Platil, Romana Stachovičová, Šimon Klimt, Daniela Šrámková)
Key conceptsData totem, electromagnetic interference, visceral landscape of technologies, Spektraflux, active archive
Text titleAudire Fluctus: Phenomenological Interface of the Technological Environment
DateExhibition
9.10.2024Signal Festival 2024 – Náměstí Václava Havla, Prague
2025FAB25 – Křižíkovy pavilony, Prague
2025Svátá Lucie – GHMP Zámek Troja, Prague
SeriesRelated works
Phantasma ElectromagneticaMutatio Superstratum (2024) — shares Spektraflux medium + EMI data source
Phantasma ElectromagneticaMutatio Superstratum mark II (2025) — evolution of series — Spektraflux with biometric data

CONCEPT

Audire Fluctus functions as a luminous sensor that translates electromagnetic activity into a visual language, thereby revealing the ontological duality of the modern environment: the physical presence of technologies and their invisible influence. At the core of the work is the medium Spektraflux, whose liquid structure serves as a dynamic membrane between human perception and machine communication. In its resting state, it generates monochromatic patterns analogous to digital noise—the visual equivalent of silence in the ether. Upon interacting with electromagnetic fields (Wi-Fi, mobile networks, nearby devices), however, these patterns undergo a metamorphosis resembling interference patterns in a liquid medium. Colors and shapes oscillate between geometric precision and organic indeterminacy, thereby creating a visual metaphor for the ambivalence of technological influence: systemically predictable, yet locally chaotic.

Situated on the piazzetta of the National Theatre, the sculpture operates as an active archive of the surrounding infrastructure. Its construction—a combination of aluminum frames, transparent tubes containing Spektraflux, and visible circuitry—reveals the principle of the “intestinal landscape” of technologies: the hidden processes that sustain the functionality of the urban organism. This approach references the methods of Kryštof Brůha, who uncovers hidden layers of data through technological mediation in his installations. Much like the polarizing filters in Brůha’s work, a portion of the information here remains latent: without activation by an electromagnetic field or the viewer’s movement, the sculpture lingers in a minimalist mode that evokes the state of a “dormant” infrastructure.

Interaction with the object is not based on directive gestures, but on the implicit participation of the viewer within a network of technological exchange. Every phone in a pocket, every powered-on device becomes an actor influencing the visual output. This principle transforms the collective human presence around the sculpture into an emergent aesthetic—a living map that visualizes the sociotechnical density of the space. Meanwhile, the dynamics of Spektraflux do not offer a single, unambiguous interpretation: much like an SDR waterfall in radio communication, the colors here encode the intensity and frequency of signals, yet their relationship to the original data remains open-ended.

The work thus functions as an intermedia translator that not only renders the invisible visible, but also problematizes the boundaries between the observer and the instrument. The sculpture is not a neutral display, but an active participant in the system it maps; its luminous patterns emerge through the technological environment, rather than about it. This process reflects the paradox of contemporary digital culture: the infrastructure we construct becomes an independent actor whose behavior transcends individual control, while simultaneously remaining dependent on human practices.

Audire Fluctus does not present a critique or a celebration of technologies, but rather creates a space for phenomenological observation. Its goal is is not demystification, but rather to make visible the complexity in which everyday reality unfolds—the layering of signals, energies, and influences that shape urban space without ever entering conscious perception. In this sense, the sculpture serves as a mirror of technological modernity: it reflects our capacity to construct systems that we simultaneously utilize and are conditioned by.


GALLERY