Grounded Frictions. 2025Sculptural Sound Installation

1m × 1m × 3,5m. 64-channel sound, speaker cones, fiber optics, lasers, custom PCBs, aluminium, steel, custom software.

Grounded Frictions emerges from an act of listening to the depths of the Earth. Using geophones, Vilanova recorded the infrasound that propagates underground, including vibrations emitted by gas wells, where extraction destabilises rock formations and threatens subterranean biodiversity.

In a darkened gallery, an array of fiber optic strings stretches from floor to ceiling, each anchored to a speaker. Unable to reproduce audible tones, the threads tighten and quiver in response to the recordings. Light flickers and dims as it traces a choreography of tension and release. Visitors are invited to walk around or sit within the space, encountering vibrational forces across elusive temporal and perceptual scales.

In Grounded Frictions, these earthly vibrations may be felt before they become intelligible. The work explores the ways technologies expand and mediate our perception into domains out of reach, and how attuning to these soundscapes might foster environmental awareness. Within these frictions, a more-than-human sensorium takes form.

Credits:

Commissioned by: Mattress Factory
Concept, Design and Construction: Marc Vilanova
Production and Curation: Danny Bracken
Construction Collaborators: Natalie Miczikus, Max Almedia, Clarisa Esevich
Technical Design: Javi Albo
Software: Alfredo Ardia
Custom Hardware and Firmware: Wesley Lee
Text: Ana Prendes
Support: Institut Ramon Llull, Biennal d’Arts Digitals, Konvent Puntzero

Available for booking