SONG OF THE ELEPHANTS

横截面

Cross Section

Date
August 2024
Location
Nanshan, Shenzhen, China
Size
1.5m*0.5m*0.4m
Material
PVC, LED W2812B, arduino, acrylic plate, diffuser sheet, aluminum wire
the two elephants with their ring trunks glowing blue and violet
the two elephants with their ring trunks glowing green and blue
the trunks glowing pink and red between the two white elephant heads

The fusion of water and fire The blue trunk represents lower sound frequencies; the red one detects higher ones.

close-up of one trunk glowing turquoise against the white pvc elephant head
the trunks glowing blue and violet
the elephants unlit: white pvc slices and clear diffuser rings on wooden bases
a trunk of rings glowing warm yellow, seen from above
one elephant with its trunk glowing cool blue in the dark
the trunks glowing green, yellow and red where they meet
the trunks glowing green and blue
the trunks glowing pink and red

CONCEPTUALIZATION

Summer 2023, Guizhou.

I was teaching Shui ethnic children and conducting dyslexia screenings. One day, during a drawing class titled "What Animal Am I?" a particularly quiet child with dyslexia created a moving piece. The drawing depicted a dinosaur-like creature that was, in fact, a green elephant.

As I gradually got to know him better, he shared with me, "I feel like a green, symmetrical elephant. I might be communicating in a language that others can’t hear."

In Shui culture, the elephant symbolizes tranquility and blessing. Through installation art, I aim to express this "language that others can’t hear"—the extraordinary spatial awareness of dyslexia and the ever-changing beauty of symmetry.

a child bent over his drawing of a green elephant, above a photo of two elephants touching trunks; a note says the portraits and images have been approved for use by both the individual and the school

BRAINSTORM

Soundwave visualization allows human voices to interact with waveforms.

Elephants communicate using infrasound, which is inaudible to humans but crucial for their long-distance communication, similar to dyslexic’s unnoticed voices.

I want to incorporate the design and variations of soundwaves into the elephant's trunk to reflect communication and relationships between individuals.

soundwaves in blue light above a photo of two elephants meeting trunk to trunk

SKETCH

I decided to create two elephants facing each other, with a focus on their trunks, which represent cross-sections of sound visualization waves. The cross-sections are not continuous, symbolizing the rise and fall of sound.

a sketch of an elephant head in blue whose trunk becomes a sound wave, meeting a yellow elephant
four steps in white on black: a geometric elephant model in rhino, sliced by planes, the slices thickened, and laid out flat for cutting
  1. Model a geometric elephant using Rhino
  2. Slice the elephant's volume with equally spaced planes
  3. Thicken each cross-section and define the edge width
  4. Lay out each cross-section and cut them from PVC board

DATA VISUALIZATION & CODE

three panels: python code that analyses audio and plots it as a circular 3d pattern, python mapping the audio's amplitude to rings, and arduino code lighting leds in colours that follow the sound's frequency

CONSTRUCTION

construction in four photos: pvc slices cut out, slices joined with aluminium wire, diffuser rings on the trunk, and the arduino with the led strip

After cutting the PVC, I calculated and drilled holes into it. Next, I connected each cross-section using 3.5 cm aluminum wire and hot glue.

Shaped diffuser sheets into circles based on the size and form of the audio frequency bands and attached them to the trunk’s wire structure.

Connected a WS2812B LED strip to the data pin and power source of the Arduino Nano, enabling the lights to respond to sound fluctuations.

FINAL DISPLAY

the finished piece in the dark: two white geometric elephant heads on wooden bases, their ring trunks glowing green and blue where they meet
back to build beautiful things