Ryoji Ikeda – Test Pattern (2008)

Test Pattern (2008) is an audiovisual installation created by Japanese sound artist Ryoji Ikeda in collaboration with Tomonaga Tokuyama. The program behind Test Pattern picks up real-time audio signals and converts their sound waveforms into eight synchronized barcode patterns. Its results are then displayed on LCD screens accompanying 16ch sound systems that projected Ikeda’s futuristic, data-driven tunes. Flashing across the screen at speeds that peak at hundreds of frames per second, Ikeda’s installation is one that challenges the boundaries of human perception. While Test Pattern’s soundscape was originally composed by Ikeda, the installation was able to exist thanks to the work of Tokuyama, whose algorithm mapped sixteen channel sound signals onto a grid matrix, turning into blindingly hypnotic strobe flashes. In an article from Hero Magazine, Ikeda was described as a “cosmic polymath,” sonic scientist,” and “matrix shaman.” I can’t help but agree- As an artist, I’ve always been mesmerized by the idea of subliminal audio and creating work that exceeded human sensory limitations. Ryoji Ikeda’s Test Pattern is a direct testament of this– a direct testament to the possibility of a paradoxically serene audiovisual experience that brought its audience into fleeting moments of sensory transcendence.

https://www.ryojiikeda.com/project/testpattern/