Installation with video monitor, analog bass synthesizer, loudspeaker, microphone, laptop computer
A Sea of Acid is an aesthetic speculation about the rising acidity levels in the oceans. The increasingly acidic seas have already impacted coral reefs worlwide and now threatens the survival of many marine species beyond the next decades. In this installation, a TV set displays a video recording of a tranquile beach scenery with waves crashing on the shore. The sound of the waves, however, is captured by a mic that interfaces with an analog synthesizer that performs synth phrases characteristic of Acid House music, but following the movement of the waves.
The futuristic sounds are reminiscent of that club music popular in the 1990s, while creating a stark contrast to the otherwise soothing, natural sounds of the waves. Through the synth phrases, the installation entails not only a direct association with the acidity of the oceans, but draws an connection between the drug-driven, never-ending hedonistic parties and raves in which this music genre developed and the unstoppable desire of our society to feast in material excess despite the impending environmental collapse.