Gregory's Sunsuckers: Boreal

New Artificial Life for Natural Eniviroments.

site specific audio installtion at the Tree Museum, Gravenhurst Ontario.

materials: ABS pipe, steel rod, concrete, electronics
individual machine dimensions: 6.5' x 5" x 7"
installation dimensions : variable
date: September/October 2012

Gregory's Sun Suckers are machines. They are classified in the order Real Artificial Life. The Boreal Sun Suckers have tall round bodies. Their skin is a large photovoltaic cell and usually shiny although in a few species they are dull and opaque. They have one compound eye (photoresistor) situated on the top of the body. This eye can read how bright the sun is during the day and detect when night falls. Beside the eye is a thick whisker. This sensor (thermistor) measures the ambient temperature in close proximity of the Sun Sucker. Sun Suckers feed by sitting in the sun light and sucking up rays of light with their skin out stretched to get the maximum amount of the sun's rays. The skin sucks up the photons and converts them into electric energy. This energy flows from the skin to the internal organs and is processed to make sound and communicate with each other. The Sun Sucker was introduced to the environment by audio artist Ken Gregory. His research follows a long tradition of outsiders meddling with the environment by introducing non-native species in the hopes of improving on what nature has provided. In this case Gregory was interested in 'improving' the local soundscape with artificially produced digital noise.

For more information please visit Gregory's Sunsuckers