Chaos Pendulum

The Chaos Pendulum creates immersive, spatialized sound environments driven by unpredictable motion. It invites the audience to perceive motion as sound, making invisible forces—magnetism and chaos—audibly and visually perceptible.

Technical Components

Rod and custom-built stand

A 3D-printed gyroscope with two potentiometers mounted on the x- and y-axes. 

3D-printed pendulum bob cast with a weighted core (concrete)

UV laser with a wiring and power system

Neodymium magnets arranged to repel

Surround or multi-channel speaker setup for spatialized sound

Circular metal plate coated in UV-reactive resin to visualize pendulum motion

Prototyping Process

Developing the Chaos Pendulum was an iterative and hands-on process, combining physical construction, coding, continuous testing in collaboration with Hjalte Hjort and Nicolaj Spangaa.

First Prototype

A 3D-printed pendulum bob was constructed, confirming that repelling magnets create complex, nonlinear paths. An additional weight was added using small metal pieces to enhance motion.

Second Prototype

We integrated code and sound during tests at the multi-channel system in AKVARIET at RMC, focusing on audiovisual behavior and sensor connections to SpacemapGo. Through this, we decided to use a rod instead of a string and realized that the pendulum required a more stable weight.

Third Prototype

A stand and table were built. Two circular plates were created by pouring UV-reactive and photochromic resin over metal bases.

Fourth Prototype

A UV Laser was implemented. On the day of our dissemination performance at LIFE Campus, the pendulum’s trajectories became visibly and sonically expressive for the first time.

Inspiration

According to the ancient Chinese text Huainanzi, the universe began in hundun (混沌)—a state of formless chaos from which emerged dao (道), the Way; and qi (氣), the vital breath animating all things. From this void, the interplay of Yin and Yang brought balance to Heaven and Earth, giving rise to five colors and five musical tones. This view of creation as a movement from chaos to harmony underpins our approach to designing the Chaos Pendulum.

The foundational model of our chaos pendulum is the magnetic pendulum—a physics demonstration in which a pendulum swings over repelling magnets, producing unpredictable, intricate trajectories.

Embracing chance and the unknown,aligns the work with the traditions of aleatoric music and chance operations, inviting unpredictability into the creative process and challenging conventions of control and precision. A key reference is Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music, which uses swinging microphones to generate audio feedback, forming a self-regulating, evolving sound pattern.

The Chaos Pendulum builds on Louise’s previous work with pendulums and materials such as photochromic pigments. Explore more of her work here.