Master Cicada + 7 Solar Nymphs

2011
7 Nymphs: 22x38x42cm
Master Cicada: 42x70x85cm
brass, alpaca, electronic circuits, solar cells
Private collection

This is an installation with 8 sculptures spread throughout the space. The largest sculpture is the Master Cicada, which is in the center. Around it are 7 other Nymphs. All eight sculptures have electronic circuits that are powered by both solar and artificial light energy. The Master Cicada controls the 7 Nymphs. It has a 1-hour countdown circuit similar to a time bomb. Every hour the Master Cicada activates its sound for one minute while sending radio waves to the other 7 Nymphs, each of which activates its sound in synchronization and in unison with the Master Cicada. Small differences in phase, amplitude and frequency in the sound produced by the eight sculptures scattered throughout the space produce an effect very similar to the sound produced by cicadas in a natural environment.

It was exhibited in the following group exhibitions: Assim é, se lhe parece – Paço das Artes – São Paulo, SP, Brazil, curated by Priscila Arantes, Invento: As Revoluciones que nos invençãom – OCA Ibirapuera – São Paulo, SP, Brazil, curated by Marcello Dantas, and more recently in the exhibition África: Diálogos com o Contemporâneo – Museu Oscar Niemeyer – Curitiba, PR, Brazil, curated by Paula Braga and Renato Araújo da Silva.