Zgodlocator is a memory machine that functions according to the magnetic principles of a computers hard disk and organizes tiny metal particles. In Zgodlocator these particles are in fact ground computer parts that are magnetically sensitive.
Unlike a computers hard disk, Zgodlocator does not concern itself with the long-term storage of text or images. Zgodlocator has a dynamic nature and, typically, has a very short and fast changing memory. In this sense the installation focuses on the dynamic aspects of the computer and not so much on the computer as just a storage medium. It stresses the continuous reprocessing of information and the reconstructing of dynamic archives that are constantly changing because users actively use them and because the material is also organized by the computer itself.
By rotating small dials, the audience may manipulate the magnetic fields generated by Zgodlocator, and, as a result, the granulated computer grit, that looks like black metal filings, forms freakish and constantly changing shapes. In Zgodlocator , magnetism becomes a dynamic container for storing, but also for manipulating and processing information in its most raw and plastic form, that is, matter.
The various components of a personal computer are stripped of their industrial functions; hardware is dismantled, sorted and granulated (circuit boards, hard drives, processors, monitor deflectors et cetera). These hardware sands are laid on electromagnetic grids, triggering sudden transformations of the granular landscape; the particles react to the magnetic stimulations by forming singular and abrupt sculptural accumulations.
The keyboard enables the user to select, mix and overlap geometric rastered patterns mapped instantly on the hardware-desert. A variety of contact microphones and electromagnetic sensors are set up in the hardware soils. The "hardware-sounds" are captured and processed, initializing feedbacks modulated by the user. The program encodes the raw audio and converts it into graphic patterns mixed with the keyboard input. The output is instantly visualized in the granular landscape (live).
(Herwig Weiser)