PIA VAN GELDER

/ WORK / CREATIVE WORK:

Tetrasynth, 2013, in collaboration with Stephen Jones
Electronics, plastic, wood
Structural design by Andy McDonnell

The Tetra Vision Synth (TVS) or Tetrasynth is an analogue modular video synthesiser made in the shape of a tetrahedron. The electronics have been built using original schematics designed by Stephen Jones in 1996. The synthesiser is composed of a total of 12 modules made up of three distinct designs: the VCO module or video oscillator, the effects module, and a patching and viewing module. Each of the identical three faces of the TVS contribute to the red green and blue analogue outputs which appear on the final display. Unlike the traditional rectangular modular synthesis designs, the three faces of the TVS stand at an axis, inviting participants to engage in synthesis in a collaborative and relational manner.

The TVS was built in a collaborative mentorship between electronic video artist, engineer and historian Stephen Jones and myself. The project has been supported by Campbelltown Art Center and the Australia Council for the Arts and was presented as a part of the ISEA2013 program.

As a part of the ISEA2013 conference, I presented a paper on the Tetrasynth which will provide more information about the synthesiser and will be available to download from this page soon.