Polynode

The Polynode series investigates the relationship between complex digital systems and the spaces we occupy. It invites us to engage with embodied digital fields that generate computational patterns and direct our attention. Generative patterns shift continuously. Light and sound become the structure as virtual nodes respond to the generative environment they occupy. Each state dissolves into the next, governed by rules internal to the system. We interact with computational systems, but how do we sense the spirit of the computer? Polynode invites us to inhabit digital fields stretching through space, allowing us to perceive patterns and information beyond conscious awareness. Virtual nodes express themselves through light and sound, generating spatially mapped audio throughout the work.

SPECS

Custom Aluminium LED bars LED controllers Stainless steel cables Computer TouchDesigner Supercollider Lightjams LED mapper

CREDITS

Concept and realization by Lumus Instruments Sound by Max Frimout Exhibited at Monopol Berlin (I, 2023) Himmel Unter Berlin (II, 2023) Uncloud (III, 2023) FIBER Festival (IV, 2024) Nxt Museum (VIII & IX, 2024–2026) Amsterdam Dance Event (IX, [year])

Polynode at Fiber Festival dystopian image green

“A computational process is indeed much like a sorcerer’s idea of a spirit. It cannot be seen or touched. It is not composed of matter at all. However, it is very real.” — Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman Computer scientists and educators

Polynode Katoenhuis art rotterdam tec art Martijn Kuyvenhoven
Polynode cycles close up led bars

Polynode approaches this not by illustrating the spirit, but by making it physical.

Polynode in red at Fiber Festival
Polynode in red at Fiber Festival

In essence, Polynode is a spatial instrument in which neither light nor sound is the origin of the behavior that emerges.

Lumus
Instruments

Lumus
Instruments
Lumus Instruments is a studio for light, sound and spatial structure. We design and build installation systems that translate computational processes into physical experience.

Lumus Instruments is a studio for light, sound and spatial structure. We design and build installation systems that translate computational processes into physical experience.

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