ZAP

Photo of "Eel" art piece. White frame with tulle and thread arms.

Duderstadt Center Gallery
November 25-December 9

The SMART (Sound and Media Art) Lab is an artistic research lab where students explore the intersection of art, technology, and science to create sound and media art. We use a multidisciplinary approach that blends areas such as sound design, human-computer interaction, NIME, artistic sonification, and bio-inspired art.

SMART Lab’s current project, ZAP! is an interactive biomimetic installation that reimagines how electric eels (Electrophorus electricus) live, hunt, and communicate by creating electromagnetic fields (EMF) around their bodies, serving as an extended sense of touch. This work conceptualizes the physical, auditory, and communicative aspects of electrocommunication and brings them to life in an interactive large-scale multimedia installation. The installation showcases a real-time simulation of the eel’s behavior within varying environmental conditions of the Amazonian habitat. It composes this immersive environment through three spatial layers: the architectural sculpture, the live-generated sound engine, and spectator interactions that interfere with the autonomous artificial environment.

Artists & Lab:

  • SMART (Sound and Media Art) Lab
  • Director: Dr. Zeynep Özcan

SMART (Sound and Media Art) Lab Student Members:

  • İlkyaz Sarımehmetoğlu (Architecture, MS)
  • Shoma Sawa, (Computer Science, MA)
  • Sabrina Sugg Environment (BS & MS)
  • Brooke Steele Fine Arts (BA)
  • Natalia Quintanilla Cabrera (Performing Arts Technology, MA)

Thank you!

  • Zeke Bolukh 
  • Eva Choi 
  • Carly Lowe
  • Paul Luckhoff 
  • Emma Reich 
  • Lucas Yan

Sponsored by ArtsEngine. Read more about SMART Lab.