Electronic Countermeasures is a post-disciplinary partnership between artists Kerstin Hovland and Emery Martin. Their work focuses creating immersive performances, experiences and environments using a wide variety of mediums and disciplines including light, sound, video, sculpture, computer programming, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Drawing from a diverse background of creative, academic, and technological study, they research societal and technological issues and weave them into aesthetically striking and sonically rich time and space-based pieces that inform and challenge viewers.

Conduit

Conduit is an asynchronous sound and light installation sonifying the invisible frequencies, waves, information, and exchanges occurring both remotely and within close proximity. The piece looks to invert the conventional nature of signal intelligence (SIGINT) typified by state actors capturing and analyzing waves traveling through the atmosphere for military, police, or surveillance purposes shrouded in secrecy. Conduit instead will monitor, capture, analyze, and sonify the resulting signals and frequencies through a series of surface transducers mounted on the derelict radome tower at Fort MacArthur, transforming a Cold War era SIGINT site into a transparent and public conduit rendering these once invisible secretive signals audible. Utilizing an array of radio frequency radios and scanners listening to a multitude of frequencies simultaneously, Conduit will dynamically signal hop between bands in search for meaning within the saturated and noisy wireless spectrum that permeates our everyday lives. The searching and selection process will be sonified and transmitted to localized sound emitters utilizing the derelict hexagonal tower as a sounding board to create a 360 degree multi-channel sound experience. The signal hopping and selection pattern will additionally be visualized with moving or fixed light mounted on top of the radome tower or at ground level surrounding the tower. The installation will run in 10-15 minute loops that dynamically evolve and respond to the real time signals and previously collected transmissions throughout the duration of the piece.