a liminal space first began as survey into sociological structures within an anthropological concept. I was mostly interested in the psychological fallacy of the confirmation bias. This fallacy exists due to errors in which the way our logic flows. It is neither bad nor wrong by definition but one must always be aware of such a problem.

To extrapolate this idea further, the echo chamber is simply an extension of the confirmation bias fallacy. An echo chamber exists mostly within online and/or social media forums/groups/chats where ideas are ‘shared’ but only seek to reconfirm a person’s biases/hypotheses. With the rise of ‘fake news’ and more recently ‘anti vax’ groups that believe they are qualified to give their own medical diagnosis for vaccinations; which were mostly ideas being circlejerk in an enclosed social media group network. This is especially apparent in Facebook.

I had also chosen the use of our own voice as a means to further explore the concept of an echo chamber. Instead of text, now we use voice; the ultimate and in fact most quintessential form of communication. By using the basic idea of an echo + chamber, notably known as a cave, I want to echo back a participant’s ideas within a space, mimicking the sociological phenomena mentioned above.

To add an extra layer of complexity and depth, I introduced pitch shifting as a way to introduce the notion of polyphonic sonic experience. Mono = one / poly = many / phony = voice. By these definitions, polyphonic means many voices. Through pitch shifting one sample of a participants voice, we create the illusion of polyphony. This illusion further substantiates the problematic nature of the echo chamber. We believe that we are receiving new ideas to strengthen our ideas or beliefs but in reality, these are just rehashes of what we believe in.

Project Progress / Midterms Review

The receiving node is only comprised of an Arduino Uno + nRF24l01+ module. It will receive all the data.

This transmission node has both the nRF24l01+ wifi module, electret microphone and also the 8×8 dot matrix.

I decided to choose to go with an Arduino based setup due to its low cost and also ease of programming for me.

password:liminal

What’s next?

Moving forward from here, I intend to build a wooden/acrylic module to house the electronic transmission modules in.

The max patch also requires more fine-tuning to create a more smooth vocal pitch shifting.

I also would prefer to make the MAX patch as an .app instead because my Macbook will have to connect to a mic via USB and be part of the installation.

I had also taken the consideration to place these modules on the walls/pillars instead. This leaves the floor/space to be more free and hopefully encourage more engagement across.

Walkthrough

I intend to create this project more into the interactive side. The user first inputs his or her voice into the MAX patch and afterwards, the sample will be looped in the space. Participants are encouraged to walk within the space and interact with modules.

I have decided to choose to place these modules on the wall instead to encourage more interactivity. I believe that using the voice itself would be more interesting and also because it is a more flexible tool for interactivity.

As the participant moves within the space, they will interact with the other modules and modulate different pitches of their voice.

Reflection

I believe the interactive soundscape is only as refreshing as long there is a new vocal sample being played through.

I have also considered using the microphone connected to a Mac in order to visually encourage people to try.