Wearable Antenna
Performance and Installation
Argentina / Chile 2014
“It is necessary that all figural structures be understood as emitting and receiving a beam of directed waves that propagates from one tower to another through clouds and mist; the whole is beautiful in relation to this invisible, insensitive and real, current transmission… This type of beauty is as abstract as that of a geometric construction, and the function of the technical object needs to be understood so that its structure, and the relationship of this structure with the world, are correctly imagined and aesthetically perceived.”
Gilbert Simondon
Realization /
Luisa Bohorquez (CO)
Felipe Arenas (CO)
Paula Espinoza (CL)
Rocío Rodriguez (ARG)
Constanza Piña (CL)
Concept /
Corazón de Robota
Photographs /
Leonel Sánchez (CL)
Location /
Desarrollado en Viralata studios, Octubre 2014, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Galena is an antenna that receives electromagnetic fields. It is composed of a large coil made of copper wire displayed on a paper cloth. This antenna has been manufactured using traditional coiling or winding and wire-wrap techniques, similar to traditional basketry and has the characteristic of being wearable. This means that it uses the body as a support and its dimensions correspond to human scale proportions.
Different electromagnetic waves are worn surrounding our body on a daily basis and that constitutes an inaudible soundscape on a given space. In this sense, Galena acts by receiving, transducing and amplifying the natural and artificial electromagnetic fields that cross our kinesphere.
The research led to the creation of a textile electromagnetic sound installation and an artist’s book.
The installation consists of an open-source textile computer inspired by the creation of an astronomical khipu. The installation itself embodies an open-source textile computer, drawing inspiration from the intricate design of an astronomical khipu. Crafted meticulously, it comprises a 6-meter diameter antenna formed by 180 ropes.
Each rope is painstakingly hand-spun, woven from a delicate blend of copper wire and alpaca wool.
These ropes are connected to an electronic circuit that amplifies and sonifies the electromagnetic fluctuations present at the installation site.
The piece is presented as an interactive sound installation, engaging with the audience or autonomously interacting with the electromagnetic data from its surroundings. Additionally, it can be a live sound performance played for the artist.
The encoded information within this khipu includes a spectral classification of the main stars of the Bootes constellation, situated in the mid-sky zenith during the production period of the piece.
Most khipus were burned by colonizers and their code remains undeciphered to this day. In this project, we aim to establish a poignant interaction with the audience through sound.
Thrus, Khipu is a sound and arts interpretation of the technology, wisdom and history of our ancestors, meant to express how the universe is governed by harmonious numerical proportions. What is heard in the installation is the amplification of the inaudible space, the echoes of specters traversing the void, a celestial symphony, the music of the spheres: the voice of silence.
