Sonic Acts XV
21 - 24 feb. 2013
Amsterdam

The starting point for the theme The Dark Universe are recent developments in science which suggest that the world in which we live is more unfamiliar and even weirder than we have imagined. Because our senses only enable us to perceive a fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, we have developed an array of instruments to extend our capabilities and detect radiation across the entire spectrum, from gamma to radio waves. Using the Planck Space Observatory we are now able to study cosmic background radiation at a very high resolution, looking back to the birth of the universe. And on 4 July 2012 the Large Hadron Collider detected the ‘missing’ Higgs boson, a fundamental part of the Standard Model of particle physics.
Still, what these immensely advanced instruments record is probably only a tiny part of reality. Astronomical observations from previous decades can only be explained by postulating the existence of large quantities of matter and energy that we are unable to see, hear or measure. Only 4 per cent of the universe is made of ordinary matter, the other 96 per cent is completely dark to us.
With The Dark Universe, Sonic Acts celebrates the deeply rooted human desire to occupy ourselves with things we don’t know. The arts and sciences have always been at the core of our exploration of the unknown, the strange, and the unfamiliar. For The Dark Universe, Sonic Acts brings together scientists, artists, theorists, musicians and composers to explore the boundaries of our knowledge, investigate how to make the invisible imaginable, learn how to embrace the unknown, and to guide us through the dark universe.

The artists:

Alastair Reynolds
Aldo Tambellini
Andrew Blackwell
Andrew Pickering
Anil Ananthaswamy
Bas van Koolwijk
Billy Roisz
Biosphere
BJ Nilsen
Bruce Conner
Christine Ödlund
Clausthome & Mārtiņš Ratniks
CM von Hausswolff
Coki
Cut Hands
Dariyan
David P. D. Munns
Dead Fader
Dean Blunt
Edwin van der Heide
Ewald Engelen
Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves
Finnbogi Pétursson
Frank Swain
Franz Pomassl
Geoff Manaugh
Gerard ‘t Hooft
Gert-Jan Prins
Goodiepal
H-sik
HC Gilje
Honor Harger
Ivana Franke
Jacob Kirkegaard
Jan-Peter E.R. Sonntag
Jana Winderen
Jérôme Noetinger
JG Thirlwell
Joost Rekveld
Joris Luyendijk
Joris Strijbos
Juha
Jürgen Reble
Justin Bennett
Kahn
Keller Easterling
Kent Tankred
Klara Ravat
Laurent Dailleau
Lee Gamble
Loops Haunt
Lustmord
Maia Urstad
Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje
Makino Takashi
Marcel Weber (MFO)
Matthew Biederman
Matthijs Munnik
Michael Doser
Mika Vainio
Mike Harding
Raviv Ganchrow
Rose Kallal
Saskia Sassen
Semiconductor
Simon Ings
Steina & Woody Vasulka
Sully
The Bug
Theo Burt
Tim Maughan
Tim Wright
Tina Frank
Tony Conrad
Trevor Paglen
William Raban
Yamila Ríos
Yolanda Uriz Elizalde
Yousuke Fuyama