DEPART » Rebus Cumulations

Rebus Cumulations is an audiovisual work dealing with the accumulation of objects and the resulting collages of meaning and denotation build-ups.
In the line of classic still life paintings and their symbolic charging, about 120 arrangements were built from everyday objects, cataloged and systematized via a lexical database.
Rebus Cumulation is constantly on the verge between the mundane and the surreal and is building an enigmatic alchemy of things through an semantic system for poetry generation.

Commissioned by soundcloud it analyses realtime usage data and relates its development to the movements and energetic states of the tableaux vivants.

The installation is presented on a triptych of three 46" screens.
Mounted on a wooden case with concealed speakers

Measurements: 3m x 1.6m x 30cm

Every object in the still lifes is catalogued and linked to a lexical database. By picking out a pairs of object new mini-poems are generated which relate to their associated meanings.

Every minute the tendencies within the Soundcloud data is analysed and displayed

The installation is based on a 3-screen arrangement. The central screen generally depicts the data sculpture which functions as a clockwork, while the two other screens constantly bring up new still lifes and generated poetry.

various states of the central data entity, which drives the whole system and is based on realtime data

Press Release and further details

Made with VVVV & Reaktor

Soundcloud data interface & engineering by Sean Sean Braithwaite.
commissioned by Soundcloud

permanently installed at Soundcloud HQ / Factory

Rheinsberger Str. 76/77

10115 Berlin, Germany

Thanks to Marco Zinz (installing, transport, etc), Tristan (Magic Tricks), Merlin König & Mimu Merz & Volkmar Geiblinger (camera equipment), Lisi Lang (textiles), Woeshi Lean (VVVV support, consulting and equipment), Christian Stoppacher (Light)