Documentation video from the V2 TestLab exhibition, 2014
Project Description
Energy conversion is present in various daily lives, although it often goes unnoticed. “Phonovoltaic Effect” explores this widespread but often overlooked physical reality by transforming kinetic energy into sonic fluctuation.
This installation, conceptualized during my residency at the V2_Lab for the Unstable Media in the Netherlands, creates an interactive sensory panorama using solar panels, hand-crank generators, and hanging botanical elements. In this context, the solar panels go beyond their conventional purpose. By collaborating with hand-crank generators and diverse lighting equipment, they become musical interfaces modulated by different light intensities and frequencies. This installation engages the audience visually and auditorily while subtly influencing the plants’ growth during the exhibition.
The solar panels act as intermediaries, converting light variations into sound frequencies. Through contact transducers, they cause the containers holding the plants to resonate, generating sound, which embodies the endless possibilities of energy conversion and reflects our interactions with nature and technology.
“Phonovoltaic Effect” aims to serve as a catalyst, stimulating fresh perceptions and cognitive engagement with everyday phenomena. The seamless transition between photonic and phononic energies serves as a poetic metaphor for the interconnectedness between micro and macro levels of the ecosystem.
作品介紹
能量轉換存在於日常生活的方方面面，卻往往不被人們所留意。《光伏效應》通過將動能經由一連串形式轉換成為聲響波動，探索這一普遍存在但卻經常被忽視的物理現實。
這件作品創作於我在荷蘭V2駐村期間，太陽能板、手搖發電機和懸掛的植物元素被編排成一個互動感官景觀。在此，太陽能板超越了他們的傳統用途，藉由手搖發電機和多種燈光設備，使其變成可由不同光強度和頻率調製的樂器，不僅觸動觀眾的視覺和聽覺，還影響了展期間植物的生長。太陽能板作為一個中介，將光源變化轉換成聲波，再透過接觸式震動器使植物容器共振發聲，這不僅體現了能量轉換的無窮可能性，也反映了我們與自然、科技間的互動。
《光伏效應》是激發對日常現象另類感知和參與的催化劑，將光聲轉換作為一個詩意類比，象徵著生態系統中微觀與宏觀層面的相互聯繫。
V2_Institute of unstable media, 2014
National Taiwan Fine Arts Museum, 2016
Technical Details
Inspired by Li-Fi technology, a method of transmitting data using light instead of radio waves, the “Phonovoltaic Effect” also draws upon historical signal transmission and espionage methods that utilized light waves and solar panels. In the circuitry, a capacitor is integrated to filter out any DC currents that could damage audio equipment, thus allowing the solar panels to focus on capturing fluctuating light frequencies and converting them into sound.
The variability in light sources causes the solar panels to produce different sound frequencies, akin to a musical instrument generating various pitches. Various types of light are employed to create a diversified sonic landscape. These sounds are further refined and manipulated through multiple methods, including but not limited to physical modeling and signal feedback.
技術說明
《光伏效應》靈感源於Li-Fi技術，一種用光代替無線電波傳輸資料的方法。這件作品也受到了通訊及諜報史上利用光波和太陽能板進行訊號傳輸的歷史影響。
作品中的太陽能板不僅用來產生電力，也用來閱讀光源變動狀態。我在整體線路中加入了一個電容器，用來過濾掉可能損壞音訊設備的直流電。這樣做也讓太陽能板能專注於捕捉變化的光頻率，並將其轉換成聲音。
光源的變化差異，會讓太陽能板產生不同的聲音頻率，就像一個樂器在演奏不同音高的音符。我使用了各種類型的光來創造多樣化的聲音。這些聲音接著可以用多種方法進一步加工和調整，包括使用像是物理模擬和訊號回饋等進階音訊效果。
This project was realized as part of the Summer Sessions of V2_Lab for the Unstable Media and sponsored by the National Taiwan Fine Arts Museum. More information on the V2 website.