Steel, aluminum, RCA 1629 radio tuning tubes, arduino nano, PCB board, speaker, photoresistor, capacitors, resistors, LEDs, OLED display, 12vdc fan. 555 timer (astable mode), HV power supply (12v-500vdc), 12vdc power supply, 5vdc power supply, breadboard, 22 gauge solidcore wire, mechanical scews and bolts.
This piece is representational of a living system through items which are far from living. When combined in a specific configuration, it is "alive" — much like a nervous system. A deep thumping emits from the speaker, beating at 1.5 HZ, the average BPM of the human heartbeat. When approached, the beating speeds up, reactively. As if this artificial nervous system is aware of your presence.
Simultaneously to the mechanical oscillations of the human heartbeat, electrical signals are traversing our neurons and nervous system at extraordinary speeds — this is shown in the wirelessly lit fluorescent bulbs. The bulbs are being lit up (excited) by a transformer, stepping up pulsed DC voltage into high frequency alternating current. This transformer is called a Tesla Coil. I calculated on the installation floor that the electricity is oscillating at 542 thousand hertz (542KHZ), hence the title, 1.5HZ/542KHZ.
These systems are symbiotic — one cannot exist without the other, similarly to our own physicality and existence. Your heart beats at roughly 1.5Hz, this fuels the firing of neurons in your brain, 'beating' much faster.
Roofing tin, acrylic paint, screws, black caulk.
Steel (forged)
16 gauge cold rolled steel, brass, mechanical screws, pencil.
PCBs, wire, resistors, capacitors, potentiometers, LEDs, active piezo electric buzzer, stainless steel rods.
Computer, class 2 laser, glass eye, jumper cable, SEEED Studio's S3 sense.