HEAR and NOW

Although the approach to this installation of Florian is mostly informed by his background in nonlinear dynamics. He thinks that all the fascinating properties of this system should be easy to discover even without this knowledge.

Florian wants this installation’s underlying system to be as transparently communicated as possible, but he thinks that details about the dynamics are not absolutely necessary in order to enjoy it. The basic property of the system, namely the formation of a cluster with ever-changing constituents, has been compared to brain dynamics, for example. Here, the cluster can be interpreted as the categories that a neural network is able to build. Since this cluster is dynamic, it is always changing its shape and content, which is reflected by the actual constituting particles. This compares to the ever-changing content of categories we build in our cognitive processes. Another, more philosophical, approach to this phenomenon can be found in Heraclitus’ notion of /pantha rhei. / This idea is expressed in more detail in the following well-known sentence : /We both step and do not step in the same rivers. /We are and are not/.

When we enter the installation, we always discover a dynamical cluster that is clearly recognizable, but whose nature is constantly changing. With regards to the chaotic itinerancy and its use in the installation /Hear and now/, Florian is addressing the question of anticipation in non-periodic patterns. The representation of dynamics by the sound entities will always be delayed for exactly the amount of time that it takes for the
particle’s trajectory to move from the center to the border of the circle. This makes the spectator anticipate through visual clues where the sound will come from in the next few seconds. In its final implementation,/ Hear and now /will/ invite the audience to enter a space in progress but without destination.