Vis.[un]necessary force_4

Participatory sound installation.
Eight-channel loudspeaker ring, touchscreen interface, sound card, microcomputer, Pure Data patch, digital audio, five steel T-rods.
Duration, three sections:
I 3 min 18 s
II 3 min 00 s
III 3 min 06 s

Vis.[un]necessary force_4 (V.[u]nf_4) is a participatory sound installation developed from field recordings made during a full day with Las Rastreadoras de El Fuerte near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in February 2019. The work remains silent until a visitor activates one of three sections through a touchscreen. An eight-channel loudspeaker ring places speech, wind, footsteps, tools and terrain at ear height.

Project link: https://www.vis-unnecessaryforce.org/v-u-nf-4

Listen in 3D AudioSpace: https://audiospace.soundingfuture.com/tracks/vis.-un-necessary-force_4

Prix Ars Electronica 2021. Honorary Mention. Digital Musics and Sound Art. Included in Ars Electronica’s sound series Sounding Future (2026), following nomination by Emiko Ogawa, Head of Prix Ars Electronica.

Three red squares on the touchscreen correspond to the work’s sound sections. A sculptural section composed of five steel T-rods refers to the tools Rastreadoras use to probe the ground before digging for clandestine graves.

Informative video.
Duration: 4:18 minutes.
URL: https://youtu.be/cBXtzJORIWc

Binaural version.
Duration: 3:00 minutes.
URL: https://on.SoundCloud.com/oSoHnQc8CmnmgVzUA

Stereo version with added text [English].
Duration: 3:06 minutes.
URL: https://youtu.be/n8zUDUuapPA