Arrythmia

This machine incorporates the escapement mechanism, which is at the heart of how mechanical clocks work. This mechanism derives its energy from the pull of a weight suspended by a string: the weight’s descent is slowed and converted into a steady swing. Here, the swing is not regular: the pendulum is interrupted by another weight that makes the movement partially chaotic, generating ever-changing rhythmic patterns. A dynamo converts this movement into electricity transmitted directly to the headphones, producing a low, muffled sound reminiscent of a heartbeat.

The project is made from recycled materials. Both the object’s construction and its operation are therefore designed with energy conservation in mind. The object and its self-sufficiency reference our hyper-dependence on electricity and dematerialized music. The electronic sound we hear is, in fact, generated on-site through a simple energy conversion.

Listening through headphones creates a strange, introspective sensation. We speak of cardiac arrhythmia when the heart beats too fast, too slowly, or irregularly.