2022
Hannah Perner-Wilson
Mika Satomi
Of work and waves is a public intervention created by KOBAKANT (Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson) commissioned by VON ANTENNENWÄLDERN UND WELLENOZEANEN and was performed during the 48 Stunden Neukölln 2022.
“I remember the scene with nostalgia: a group of fishermen working on a fishing net with threads and needles. It is a communal act: working on the same piece of fabric together simultaneously, creating hoops and loops.
On 25th of June 2022, a group of experienced crafters will gather in a park. Their craft technique is slow, yet their hand movements are fast and accurate. It demands skill, practice and patience. They will sit around in a circle and work together for hours, working at a steady pace, making slow but beautiful progress.
They are skilled crocheters. What they are making is an antenna made of copper thread. Technology we are so used to living with, like radios, wifi and mobile phones, which communicate with tiny electric waves that are imperceivable to us. These Hertzian waves create tiny oscillating currents in antennas. When these oscillations are amplified, we can hear them.
It is always fascinating to watch someone making things. It is mesmerizing to watch a skilled hand in action. How it is made and who makes it matters. Here we spend a poetic moment watching antennas being crocheted, and listening to Hertzian waves caught by a slowly handcrafted antenna.”
Time: 25.6.2022 12:00 – 16:00
Location: Herrfurthplatz / Schillermarkt
(in the case of rain, at TOP e. V. Schillerpromenade 4, 12049 Berlin)
Crochetters:
Emma Wood
Zäzilie Schilling
Sebastian Plaza Kutzbach
Mika Satomi
Hannah Perner-Wilson
The Electromagnetic Field captured by this crochet antenna was amplified and played back through a small synthesizer during the intervention. Here is an excerpts from how it sounded like during the event.