The Audiovisual World of A Symphony of Cells

Abstract

A Symphony of Cells is a musical composition written for an orchestra of in vitro-cultured cells, based on electrophysiological methods and analogue sound synthesis. This paper presents the work as an audiovisual world unto itself, rather than a representation or sonification of biological processes. This audiovisual world is built upon patch-clamp recordings providing control voltages for modular synthesizers, a stage backdrop with microscopy videos, and the juxtaposition of electronic and acoustic versions of the symphony’s two musical movements. The paper proposes worldmaking as a way of understanding science-based audiovisual artworks, without subordinating them to scientific representation. Based on the conception, composition and performances of the work, I examine how selection, ordering, supplementation and deformation liberates the material from its scientific origins. A Symphony of Cells thus presents an audiovisual world with its own aesthetic raison d'être, rather than functioning as an auxiliary representation of science.