Symbolism in Circuit Diagrams

The installation consists of six electrical circuits, which depict the encoding of six classical poems into electrical circuitry symbols. Behind the podiums are six films animating this process of transforming the poems into electrical diagrams.

In electronics, a diagram contains standardized symbols to schematize the work of an electrical network. These symbols are succinct metaphors, which transmit a vast amount of technical information. The artist collective investigates the »linguistics« of these pictograms, and interprets their possible translation into a poetic language. After converting the six poems into the »vocabulary« of electrical circuits, the artists create DIY assemblages based on the developed diagrams. The resulting circuits have a metaphorical connection to the content of the poems. For instance, Pushkin's »Prophet« took the form of a radio set.

Following the linguistic experiments in sound symbolism and language creation of the Russian Futurists known as zaum, »Symbolism in Circuit Diagrams« can be seen as an attempt to create the foundations for a universal language, for the laws of physics and electricity, in particular, are universal for all living beings and machines.