The Queen of the South
2025 / Interactive Installation
this installation extends his inquiry into the relationship
between sound and material
into an interactive, audience-driven context.
their presence and movement actively shape the sonic
and visual environment in real time,
collapsing the boundary between body, space, and sound.
Research & development
The Queen of the South / Gesture, vibration and material response
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From a score to a shared instrument
Alvin Lucier’s 1972 score brings together performers, responsive surfaces, loose materials and closed-circuit television. Sound sets matter in motion; cameras make the changing surface visible. The Chladni principle connects what is heard to the vibration of a physical surface.
Alvin Lucier · The Queen of the South (1972)
Performance reference · Works catalogue, Wesleyan University
A physical point of control
Our reinterpretation places a mechanical hand between the visitor and the sound. Moving its fingers changes the audio driving the sand-covered panels. Live imagery and responsive light extend this material event across the room, inviting participation through playing, watching and listening.
Mechanical hand / vibrating table / layered projection scrims
How can a gesture make sound legible through matter and space?
Finding a hand that can be played
Six iterations tested one linked problem: how to make the hand comfortable to move, mechanically stable and consistent as a sensing interface.
Printed study
The literal hand form obscured the mechanism. The next version simplified its structure.
Miniature mechanism
Interference and uneven balance revealed the need to revise the linkage and sensor positions.
Sensor displacement
Potentiometer displacement caused failure. The mechanism was discarded.
Full-scale motion
Full-scale travel improved, but overextension exposed the need for physical stops.
Base and grip
A revised base and fingertips addressed form; balance and grip still needed refinement.
Final mechanism
Dual potentiometer supports, refined joints and metal sleeves resolved the assembly.
Miniature prototypes / early mechanism studies
1:1 mechanism tests / travel and support
Final joint and assembly
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Making the hand stable enough to sense
The iterations led to a hand in which joint support and sensor placement were developed together. CNC-cut parts were sanded, finished and assembled into articulated fingers and a supporting base.
Mechanical hand / structure, sensing and assembly details
Five fingers, each with two potentiometers, provide ten control values. Mechanical stability supports consistent sensing, linking the movement of the fabricated joints to the sound system.
Finding a surface that makes sound visible
Material tests moved from uneven vibration and clumping powders toward separate foam-board surfaces. The selected panels shaped the table: individual surfaces, exciters and supports became one assembly.
Material trials
Making and assembly
Audio signal → exciter → vibrating panel → moving grains
Transducer test
Water test
Powder test
Sand response
Panel studies
Surface test
Tabletop openings
Cutting
Sanding
Finishing
Exciter test
Giving each gesture a sound
With the hand and surfaces in place, the next task was to connect movement to a playable sound system. At FOLD, the mechanical hand became an interface for both the sound heard in the room and the vibration seen in the grains.
Gesture → ten sensor values → five sound voices → room playback and vibrating panels
Arduino reads two potentiometers per finger and sends ten values to Max/MSP over a serial connection. Each pair controls the frequency and level of one voice. The patch remaps the input ranges, then routes all five voices to the room’s audio system and the exciters.
Performance interface / grouped voice controls and input monitoring
Joint movement / level and frequency
Shaping the response
Joint movement sets frequency and level; gain and filtering shape each voice before output. Earlier patches tested parallel routing, cycle~ oscillators and drawn envelopes with line~. Periodic waveforms gave clearer grain patterns in the material tests.
Early parallel routing
Envelope test
Voice control patch
Extending the material event into an image
Webcams capture the moving grains. TouchDesigner processes the feed, while StreamDiffusion generates image variations for the projection scrims. Monitors retain a close view of the material; projection extends its texture and atmosphere across the room.
Webcam input
Processed 2D texture
Generated image variation
Projection test
The generated textures interpret the camera input; they do not measure the material’s microstructure.
Letting the instrument reach into the room
The hand gathers control at one tactile interface, while its effects unfold elsewhere. The long table follows the room’s axis, offering places to approach and watch the vibrating panels as sound travels through the space.
PC 1 / Max/MSP
PC 2 / Lighting
PC 3 / TouchDesigner
PC 4 / StreamDiffusion
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Spatial and system diagram / interface, audio, lighting and live-image pathways
A visible connection
LED strips connect the hand and table. Potentiometer input, programmed brightness and rhythm shape the changing light across the room.
Two scales of viewing
Monitors offer close views of the sand. Layered scrims carry generated imagery into the room, moving between material detail and a larger visual field.
Arduino / Max/MSP / LightingStudio / TouchDesigner / StreamDiffusion
Building around the room
Bringing the instrument to FOLD’s Stream Room connected spatial planning, fabrication and on-site integration. The long table follows the room’s axis; the hand anchors one end, while cameras and suspended screens link the material surface to the projected image.
FOLD / site reference
Room reference
Stream Room / plan
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1 Mechanical hand
2 Steel support
3 Programmed LED strips
4 Long table
5 Foam panels
6 Sand grains
7 Projectors
8 Layered projection screens
9 Webcams and stands
Spatial arrangement / hand, table, lighting, cameras and layered projection screens
Assembly brought the fabricated parts, wiring, supports and image pathways into a shared space. Alignment of the hand, table, cameras and projection surfaces connected the individual tests to one working installation.
Encounters with the instrument
What the encounters carry forward
The project connected a fabricated interface, five-voice sound control and responsive material surfaces in one working installation. Mechanical and material tests showed why these parts had to develop together: joint stability, sensor position and panel response each shaped what a gesture could produce.
Participation beyond the hand
Visitors also drew in the sand, blew across it, danced nearby or watched quietly. These reported encounters extended participation beyond the intended interface. Informal feedback described moments of connection with strangers. This motivates further inquiry; it does not establish a measured social effect.
Between material response and generated image
The moving grains provide a physical response to sound. Generated imagery offers a further interpretation, amplifying texture and atmosphere while moving away from that material evidence. The design question is how these two forms of feedback help visitors understand what their actions change.
A question carried forward
How clearly can visitors connect a gesture to changes in sound, sand and image? A future study could compare direct camera views with generated imagery, observing action–response exploration and discussing visitors’ interpretations. It could also examine how people negotiate shared control.
Basis of reflection / prototype tests, exhibition observation and informal feedback · Comparative study proposed