The immersive work 'Earthworks' will be the protagonist of SonarPlanta 2016

For its realization, The British Semiconductor studio has used five screens of 5,5 metros, arranged in zig-zag, that serve as support for this multichannel video installation, where the animated graphics used react differently depending on the sound applied to them at all times.

SonarPlanta 2016 has selected the British artist duo Semiconductor, composed of Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, to produce the work that will preside over this third edition. This monumental piece, denominada ‘Earthworks’, will premiere in Sonar Barcelona 2016 which will be celebrated from 16 al 18 June.

'Earthworks' represents the process of formation of the Earth and the constant changes that occur in its structure and landscape, from those caused by natural phenomena (seismic movements, erosions) to those that originate from the effects of human activity and that define a new geological era: the Anthropocene.

“We want to do work that is a celebration of modern science, a sublimation of technology through the creation of rich and lush animation. But at the same time we want the viewer to consider the problem of experiencing nature only through scientific and technological observation of it.", the members of Semiconductor explain.

Five large screens were used for its production. (5,5 metros) arranged in a zigzag that serve as support for this multichannel immersive video installation.

'Earthworks' projects high-definition animated graphics that represent the movement of the earth's strata down to the smallest detail. Layers that merge and separate in a constant movement, powered by seismographic data extracted from phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes and glaciers, and converted by the British artist duo into a surround sound stream.

These seismic data have been obtained from the public archive IRIS (Incorporated Research Institution for Seismology) and also the plant environment, the industrial complex of the Sorigué business group in Balaguer (Lleida), with the help of geotechnology experts from the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University of Barcelona. This way, The work also incorporates a series of very vivid and recent data that has directly to do with the new era of the Anthropocene..

Semiconductor introduces the use of scientific methods in its creative process. In this case the use of geomodels, a technique used by geologists to study the formation of the earth that consists of applying various physical forces on colored sand to observe its behavior.

The animated graphics of 'Earthworks' react differently depending on the sound applied to them at any given time.

Artistic creation and innovation

SonarPlanta is the joint initiative of Sónar and Sorigué Foundation that started in 2014, and its purpose is to promote and celebrate research and experimentation of creative languages ​​around technology and new media art..

It is a space for artistic creation and business innovation, located in La Plana del Corb (Balaguer – Lleida), and in which art coexists, architecture, industrial processes and natural landscape.

Every year three artists with recognized experience in the field of art and technology are invited to present a new New Media Art project.. The selected work is produced exclusively for SonarPlanta by the Fundació Sorigué and presented to the public at the annual edition of Sonar Barcelona..

In the edition of 2014, The protagonist work was the monumental immersive audiovisual installation 'Unidisplay' made by the German explorer of digital aesthetics in art, Carsten Nicolai. And last year, The person in charge of carrying out the installation was the Berlin studio Art+Com, who unveiled the 'kinetic installation'RGB|CMY Kinetic’.