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A Kinetic Installation Is Materializing Parallel Universes

Installation artists visualize Boris Chimp 504 and Alma D’ Arame, visualize quantum theory in an kinetic interactive sculpture.
GIF by author, via. Images courtesy the artist

We can all agree that quantum mechanics ain't easy, even with Brian Greene explaining it from within the Quantum Cafe itself. But in a creative attempt visualize the existence of parallel universes, media artists Boris Chimp 504 and Alma D’ Arame have constructed the Δ∞ [Infinite Delta] performance, a sculptural installation that does a pretty good job of illustrating the lofty science in action. The piece draws on principle concepts within the realm Euclidean geometry and quantum physics—particularly string theory, which suggests that our universe is one part of many parallel existent universes. This idea of a so-called multiverse prompted the artists to ask the question, written out in a description of the project, “What would happened then if we multiply trains infinitely? Could we have access to those parallel universes?”

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The installation is made up of a physical structure built from a series of triangular planes that move via an arrangement of weighted string mechanisms called servomotors. The pulley system swings the triangular planes right and left like a pendulum. Light is projected onto the shifting structures, reflecting an index of multi-layered gridded patterns onto an adjacent wall. The performance cycles through different modes and shapes as it responds to different stimuli like the movements of the onlooking crowd, as well as sound and generative sequences input by the artists.

The idea for Δ∞ originated during a residency back in December 2014. It plays off this idea by combining physical elements with digital components. The sculpture occupies what the artists are calling, “a mixed/parallel reality,” that produces, “new alternative, magic and hyper-sensorial landscapes”; a kinetic hybrid sculpture that bridges the gap between the physical world, the virtual, and all of the alternate possibilities between them.

Check out a video of the performance below:

Δ∞ [Infinite Delta] from visiophone on Vimeo.

For more information about the project head over to Rodrigo Carvalho’s website.

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