Hypnotic Visual Renderings of Animal Sounds

White-Beaked Dolphin

Aquasonic Acoustics is a project by 51-year-old creative computer engineer Mark Fischer that takes the sound waves from animals and transforms them into a brilliant array of colors and patterns. Essentially, the series of produced mandalas configure what Fischer refers to as “the shape of sound.” He adds, “It's a kind of photography to me, with mathematics as the lens and the computer as the camera.”

Each hypnotic creation explores a visual sense of something that is meant to be an auditory experience. Fischer captures the pulsating rhythms of crickets chirping, birds squawking, and dolphins singing with high quality audio recording equipment and adds color to the renderings with imaging software. The results are a vibrant display of geometric and floral patterns, like looking through a kaleidoscope.

Though he is partial to the complex wavelets created by whales and dolphins, ultimately, there is no animal–avian, aquatic, or land dwelling–that Fischer hasn't shown an interest in. In fact, he's contemplating expanding his series to include man-made ships, which contribute a great amount of noise pollution in the world.


Blue Whale


Cerchio Humpback


Northern Cardinal


Humpback Whale


Minke Whale


False Killer Whale


Spectacled Owl


Cricket


Risso's Dolphin


Atlantic Spotted Dolphin


White-Beaked Dolphin


Minke Whale


Orca

Aguasonic Acoustics website
via [Ian Brooks, Daily Mail]

Pinar

Pinar Noorata (she/her) is the Editorial Director at My Modern Met. She is a writer, editor, and content creator based in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her BA in Film and Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College. She has worked at major TV, film, and publishing companies as well as other independent media businesses. She also runs her own art & culture newsletter called The High Low. She first joined the My Modern Met team in 2011 as a Contributing Writer, pitching and publishing articles about a wide range of topics. Her expertise in visual media lends itself to in-depth analysis of varied art forms, including but not limited to painting, illustration, sculpture, installation, design, and photography. Pinar has a particular affinity for spotlighting up-and-coming artists, affording them a platform and offering a voice to lesser-heard individuals looking to break through, especially BIPOC creatives. She has helped multiple artists make a name for themselves and reach a wider audience over 10+ years as a writer and editor (both through long-form articles and short-form videos). When she isn’t writing, editing, or creating videos herself, Pinar enjoys watching films and TV, reading, crafting, drawing, frequenting museums and galleries, and volunteering at her local animal shelter.
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