create your world | Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica 2021

re-wire

Felix Senk (AT), Emil Steixner (AT), Max-Jakob Beer (AT); Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt

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Linz, In Kepler's Gardens

The project “re-wire” is a sculpture that can be used as an instrument. The intention of the three artists was to combine a musical project with the ecological idea of upcycling. So they built a modular synthesizer out of electronic scrap and found materials. They recorded the sounds for it themselves during the creation of the object, for example when sawing the boards. They edited the sounds, used free software for a micro-controller and transformed the XLR cables to make an interface for the synthesizer. The result was an instrument with a distinctive sound that can play 16 different loops, which can be combined with various sounds and modified with different effects such as reverb or distortion. The project illustrates how software found in virtual space can be used to create something sustainable in real space.

re-wire was awarded the Golden Nica in the u19-create your world category at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.

Felix Senk (*2002), Emil Steixner (*2002) and Max-Jakob Beer (*2002) are students at the Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna. The three friends deal a lot with the topics sustainability and music. In addition, they have different interests and skills, which they combined for their project: From building and crafting with different materials to producing films and music.

re-wire is their first joint project.

Credits

Programming support: Philipp Mold
Content feedback: Manuel Steinböck, Bernhard Comploj
Procurement of the e-waste: Klaus Karll