The more precisely we try to recreate the natural, the further we drift from it – without letting it go.
Overengineered is an interactive sound sculpture centered on a constructed tree made of PVC pipe loops and coiled speaker cable. Rather than imitating a natural organism, the structure operates as an electromagnetic antenna, continuously emitting signals into its surrounding, creating an invisible and spatially dynamic field.
Visitors are invited to explore this field using handheld electromagnetic pickups. As they move through space, fluctuations in signal intensity are revealed as sound, transforming complex geometries into a form of exploration and play. Each pickup carries its own sonic character rather than all pickups sensing signals in the same way, turning the tree into a distributed instrument that is navigated rather than directly controlled.
The work stems from a simple premise: what happens when we attempt to build something that already exists? In trying to reconstruct the natural through technical means, the result becomes overengineered – no longer a tree, yet still holding onto its image. Overengineered lies where reconstruction turns into transformation, and where an object designed to replicate instead casting its own agency.
Links:
@roestibruecke
Public Presentations
exhibition _ Sounds Nice, Gare du Nord · Basel · June 2026
showcase _ Röstibrücke Symposium, Kunstraum Walcheturm · Zürich · March 2026
Röstibrücke Symposium, Zürich · March 2026
Overengineered was shown publicly for the first time at the Röstibrücke Symposium, in a prototype state. Its structure and appearance were reworked in the months that followed, and the sculpture now looks substantially different. These images document that first version, its assembly, and the accompanying talk.
