Audiobomb
Audio Installation (2009-10)
In Syracuse, NY, audiobombs have appeared on sites around the Syracuse University main campus. Audiobombs that were planted on buildings and utility poles emitted the sounds of the crow. Audiobombs were installed in response to the academic institution’s persistent use of sonic devices that deter crows from inhabiting the wooded areas on top of the hill. Audio agents embedded themselves among murders of crows weeks previous to capture the sounds of the animals who would usually inhabit the space, a process they call audio sniping. This action of the school interferes with the crows’ typical migration patterns. Technology is thus placed as a countermeasure to interfere with existing man made measures, a jamming device.
This mission was successful, as moments after the audiobombs were installed crows descended from the sky. Audiobombs thus have the potential to produce an environmental change in the immediate space, but it is yet to be tested whether or not these devices can be a prelude to social change, in comparison with image and textual based graffiti. Indeed when audiobombs catch you off guard perhaps it may ignite a mode of critical thinking about your environment, or in this case the impact of humans on the immediate surroundings.
Audiobombs were designed to camouflage in an urban setting. The aluminum enclosure provides protection from the weather as well as a physical amplification for the audio. Acrylic enclosures taken from molds of tree bark provide the latest enclosure for suburban or rural installations.
