"near and far" is an interactive sound and light installation consisting of a 14.2 wall of speakers, a set of three pull-string lamps, various sensors, and various furniture. Movement around the space is sonified and the changing soundscape is controllable via combinations of the three lamps on-off state.

"near and far" is an interactive sound and light installation that explores how proximity influences our perception of sound in space and our relationships with people, places, and things. The installation aims to provide co-creative agency to the audience, whose presence and actions uniquely define the experience of the work. Movement is sonified in the space via a distance sensor and audience members may turn on and off a collection of three lights to toggle between eight unique soundscapes and musical compositions. The soundscapes and compositions range from abstract electronic sounds, to fully-fledged song / composition arrangements, to everyday sounds like wind, waves, and urban transit. The multiplicity of sonic spaces was inspired by the author’s belief that embodying plurality reflects vernacular (everyday) lived experiences and, when enacted in art, provides many varied opportunities for observers to resonate emotionally or otherwise engage with a work.

It took a week or so to formulate the concept and execute. The speaker array utilizes cheap, lightweight, and affordable Logitech speakers (meant for home surround sound TV applications) affixed to a suspended wooden frame with custom 3d-printed mounts. The light array uses 12V DC lightbulbs with photoresistors attached to detect on/off. The distance sensor and photoresistors interface with a Teensy via breadboards and send MIDI note on/off and controller data to a Max/MSP patch, in which the core of the composition was produced.