Nature and science are major inspirations for Mels van Zutphen. What intrigues him is natural phenomena in themselves, and the impression they make on us as humans. At the same time, he is interested in fields of science that study and quantify the occurrence.
Van Zutphen does not aim to find hard evidence or investigate the truth. By observing, documenting and staging, he seeks to put our perceptions of ‘reality’ to the test. In doing so, he playfully displays the beauty and absurdity of the human drive to explain our place in the cosmos.
7.83Hz (2022) installation - As a result of lightning discharges worldwide, a series of low-frequency electromagnetic waves are created in the atmosphere. These so called Schumann resonances occur at specific frequencies that are determined by the circumference to the Earth, the distance between the Earth's surface and the ionosphere, as well as the electrical conductivity of the Earth's surface. The fundamental frequency of Schumann resonance is around 7.83 hertz, but there are also standing waves of higher frequencies.
In this work, the electromagnetic waves are expressed in sound waves. Oscillators generate waves of 7.8 Hz, 14.3 Hz and 20.8 Hz respectively and loudspeakers play those frequencies: but the sounds are too low for us to hear. Conical paper horns are placed on the speakers, they vibrate in rhythm with the frequencies; these do make audible sound. By using different paper types and different sizes of horns in a programmed cycle, a constantly changing sound sculpture is created.
First Light exhibition view: Hydrogen Line (2021) + Schumann resonance (2021) - "First Light" refers to the first time a glass or radio telescope is used for astronomical observations. The content on this page is based on research about radio signals and receivers, specifically in the context of searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligent life.
First Light exhibition view: Drake equation (2021) + Hydrogen Line (2021) + Schumann resonance (2021) - "First Light" refers to the first time a glass or radio telescope is used for astronomical observations. The content on this page is based on research about radio signals and receivers, specifically in the context of searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligent life.
We were on the fucking Moon - List of man made objects left on the moon
Rocketscience (2020) - video-loop
Just After the Big Bang (2020) | - potato + funnels
Extraterrestrial Life Fooled (2020) | - Frame, speaker, MP3 player, audio loop, each unique |
In 1977 a golden record was sent into space with the Voyager 2 space probe by NASA. In 2020 it left our Solar system to enter the interstellar medium. Apart from sounds and music from planet Earth it contained 108 images to show potential extraterrestrial intelligent life who we are. 40 years ago there was no way to digitalize these images so they decided to transfer the images into sound, in a very odd way. The images were captured by an analoge videocamera and the output data was transferred into sound.
KOSMOS - Exhibition view KOSMOS in Het Wilde Weten Rotterdam
The Speed of Light - Exhibition view Tokio Photographic Art Museum 2020
The Speed of Light (2015-2018) | - leporello + video |
In September 2011 scientists from the OPERA experiment at the LNGS-Laboratory in Gran Sasso, Italy, stated that possible proof had been found that subatomic particles were moving faster than the speed of light. In this experiment, neutrinos – tiny particles with no charge and almost no mass – were fired from CERN, Switzerland to a huge underground detector in Gran Sasso, Italy. These particles are able to travel the entire distance through the earth without being stopped.
This finding rocked Einstein’s foundations of modern physics, which are based on the assumption that nothing can travel faster than light. Would this moment mark the emergence of a grand new theory? Scientists were confused; some were going crazy, while others remained deeply sceptical. In the end, the sceptics were right: almost a year later, researchers blamed the faulty results of the experiment on a loose fibre optic cable…
Visual artist and filmmaker Mels van Zutphen decided to create an artistic and slightly ironic visual statement on these scientific events. He followed the path of the neutrinos from Geneva to Gran Sasso by car in twelve days; a neutrino only needs a fraction of a second to travel the same distance.
Inspired by the scale and speed of the most tiny particles in our universe Van Zutphen made a short film of his journey titled The Speed of Light. The publication accompanying the video contains a diary styled log, background information on the OPERA neutrino experiment, a detailed map of the area of the experiment, highlighting the paths of both the neutrinos and the artist, and an exclusive link to view the film.
