Dielectric, by Fabian Winkler, is inspired by the buzzing sounds that powerlines produce. The installation’s main components are two powerline crossarms and wires. Halfway between the crossarms the powerline’s wires are interwoven to form a hammock.

An analog capacitance sensor measures changes of the hammock’s electromagnetic field caused by people approaching it. Based on the sensor values, arcing is triggered in a high voltage transformer. The pulsing and frequency of the arcing is controlled by an EZIO board. If a visitor wants to lay in the hammock, his/her body asimilates into the hammock’s electromagnetic field and becomes part of the sensor. Other visitors can then trigger arcing by touching the person laying in the hammock.

The elements of the project evoke the technology of energy transmission and the presence of electricity – impalpable and invisible in nature, yet familiar and practical in everyday life.