+ WHO?
Guillem Serrahima
Collaborations:
Green Bank Observatory
Brain and Emotion Lab
Radio MACBA
+ WHAT?
Interdisciplinary impacts of electromagnetic pollution ??
+ HOW?
??
Ubiquitous Noise investigates electromagnetic environments—imperceptible yet deeply conditioning our experience of life, both urban and planetary. The project engages with ‘noise’ as a concept that spans multiple scientific, technical, and aesthetic fields, always situated in a liminal zone between epistemology and perception. It traces electromagnetic noise through various domains: cosmic background radiation detected by radio telescopes, neural background noise in neuroscience, and the electromagnetic pollution of modern communication infrastructures.
The urban context is approached as a dense electromagnetic ecology. At the same time, the project expands beyond the city: from the National Radio Quiet Zone in West Virginia, where electromagnetic emissions are prohibited, to the Brain and Emotion Lab at Maastricht University, where a 7-Tesla MRI is used to study brain activity. These sophisticated observational devices—whether telescopes or MRI scanners—are echoed by a DIY electromagnetic antenna developed as part of the project. All serve as mediators for making invisible phenomena observable and audible. The final installation brings together a spatialized sound environment, a visual essay tracing the multi-scalarity of electromagnetic signals, and a live antenna that integrates the electromagnetic presence of the exhibition space itself. Together, these elements immerse visitors in an expanded field of listening and perception.
Electromagnetic listening, urban noise, invisible ecologies, sonic philosophy, DIY antenna, phenomenotechnique, noise as knowledge
Tools and Methodology: Device-Making Guides
VLF Electromagnetic Antenna (DIY)
A portable electromagnetic antenna was designed and built during the project, capable of capturing Very Low Frequency (VLF) emissions. This custom-made device accompanied the researcher across various environments, translating electromagnetic signals into sound. The exhibition version features a one-meter diameter acrylic ring wound with 500 g of copper wire, connected to a recorder that renders these invisible signals audible. The antenna operates as a humble analogue to the complex devices used in astrophysics and neuroscience—reframing technical environments through a critical, accessible lens. Beyond being a technical object, this DIY device also functions as a philosophical and aesthetic tool, inviting others to explore invisible ecologies through expanded listening practices.
DIY VLF Antenna with Coil and Jack Cable – Step-by-Step Guide
Materials Needed:
– Enamel-coated copper wire (20–28 AWG)
– 3.5mm jack or XLR plug (male)
– Shielded audio cable (or non-shielded, though shielded reduces noise)
– Plastic, wooden, or cardboard form for winding coil (10–30 cm diameter)
– Soldering iron and solder
– Multimeter
Instructions:
1. Wind 100–300 turns of enamel-coated wire around the form. More turns increase sensitivity but may also increase noise.
2. Strip the enamel insulation from both ends, leaving 10–15 cm leads.
3. Use a multimeter to check continuity.
4. Solder the coil ends to a 3.5mm jack (Tip = one end, Sleeve = ground). For stereo plugs, connect both Tip and Ring.
5. Insulate with tape or heat shrink tubing and secure connections.
6. Test by plugging into a recorder with good preamplification.
Tips: Rotate the coil to find the best reception angle. Avoid urban areas to reduce interference when recording natural radio.
Design Methods & Frameworks
The project mobilizes critical media theory to interrogate the cultural and political dimensions of technology; field observation to engage directly with electromagnetic environments; and speculative design to prototype alternative ways of sensing and knowing. Sound is the central discipline of the project, positioned as both an investigative and epistemological practice. The practice weaves its way through an interdisciplinary framework which connects philosophy, science, and art. The three disciplines are brought into dialogue with one another through personal interviews, scientific explanations and historical analyses. Finally, an intentional method has been to accept ambiguity and indeterminacy as productive and central aspects of the project. The wide scope of signals recorded by observational devices, and the spaces between their designation as ‘signal’ or ‘noise’, ‘knowledge’ or ‘pollution’, become integral parts of our final results, tracking all learnings with an undercurrent of subtle yet persistent background noise.
Collaborations
– Green Bank Observatory (West Virginia, USA): Observation of the Green Bank Telescope and interviews with scientists and electro-sensitive community members. Scientists: Jim Jackson, Brenne Gregory, Will Armentrout, Daniel Bautista, Paul Vosteen. Community members: Neil, Levy, Dianne, Nelly, Ivanka.
– Brain and Emotion Lab (Maastricht University, Netherlands): Access to a 7-Tesla MRI and interviews with Beatrice de Gelder, Giuseppe Marrazzo, Votja Smekal.
– Radio MACBA (Spain): Organisation of workshops to build and refine VLF antennas.
Impact
The electromagnetic antenna has been used throughout the project to investigate electromagnetic fields. It captured natural radio signals in the Radio Quiet Zone, emissions from scientific instruments at Green Bank Observatory, and MRI-related electromagnetic activity at the Brain and Emotion Lab. These recordings demonstrate the diversity of noise ecologies across environments. A workshop in Bergen (Norway, 2024) produced a 70 cm antenna with increased directionality and sensitivity. For the exhibition at BASE, a one-metre diameter antenna was fabricated—the largest yet—allowing not just the capture of device frequencies but the ambient electromagnetic environment itself. Future experiments will include the development of a 360º antenna-helmet prototype (with CERTH and a sound engineer) to capture immersive electromagnetic fields. Tests are planned in both urban and rural environments, as well as anechoic chambers, to further explore perceptual dimensions of the work.
Lessons learned:
By juxtaposing scientific precision and DIY methods, the project reveals that ‘noise’ is not merely technical residue but an epistemological gateway. Instruments both measure and co-produce phenomena. Through expanded listening and speculative experimentation, Ubiquitous Noise demonstrates that noise is a productive space of knowledge and perception.At the Green Bank Observatory, the immense scale and sophistication of the radio telescope foregrounded the institutional and infrastructural frameworks within which science operates. At Maastricht, the 7T MRI revealed how neuroscientific knowledge depends on technical mediation, with ‘noise’ understood both as a limitation and as a source of interpretive richness. By contrast, the DIY antenna introduced an alternate scale of engagement—one that foregrounds accessibility, immediacy, and the subjective encounter with electromagnetic environments. These contrasts have reinforced the importance of embracing multiple registers of knowledge production. Another lesson is the pedagogical potential of DIY practices: workshops demonstrated that non-experts could quickly build antennas and, through them, experience electromagnetic ecologies in a direct and embodied way. Finally, the work underscores the value of maintaining a liminal position between science and parascience, a position that destabilizes authority while opening creative possibilities for rethinking noise as a productive space.
Artistic, Social, Technological, and Urban Benefits:
Ubiquitous Noise renders perceptible the invisible forces shaping contemporary environments. By combining philosophy, fieldwork, and artistic speculation, the work highlights the saturation of electromagnetic infrastructures in urban life. It creates a space where scientific, social, and artistic perspectives converge. The work provides a bridge between artistic, scientific, and philosophical perspectives, allowing multiple disciplines to enter into dialogue through the shared question of noise.
Adaptability / interoperability:
The DIY antenna is easy to replicate and adapt for various contexts—artistic, educational, or scientific. The critical methodology is transferable across disciplines including media archaeology, sound studies, neuroscience, and spatial arts. The modular design of the installation makes it deployable in museums, public interventions, or pedagogical settings.
Project Wiki
???