[ISEA2024] Paper: Jon McCormack & Elliott Wilson — Holon: A Cybernetic Interface for Bio-Semiotics

Abstract

Keywords: Cybernetics, Sound Art, Collective Behaviour, Emergence

This paper presents an interactive artwork, “Holon”, a collection of 130 autonomous, cybernetic organisms that listen and make sound in collaboration with the natural environment. The work was developed for installation on water at a heritagelisted dock in Melbourne, Australia. Conceptual issues informing the work are presented, along with a detailed technical overview of the implementation. Individual holons are of three types, inspired by biological models of animal communication: composer/generators, collector/critics and disruptors. Collectively, Holon integrates and occupies elements of the acoustic spectrum in collaboration with human and non-human agents.

  • Jon McCormack is an Australian artist and academic. He is the founder and director of SensiLab, a creative technologies research centre based at Monash University in Melbourne, AU
  • Elliott Wilson is an electronics designer, developer and maker. He is the mansager of SensiLab, a creative technologies research centre based at Monash University in Melbourne, AU