comisionada por Priamo lozada y Plataforma PUEBLA 2031
Plataforma Puebla 2006
Laboratorio Arte Alameda 2007
Mide Museo interactivo de economia 2010
Galeria Metropolitana ” la Sombra del agua ” 2011
Spark-un-Plug: Arcángel Constantini**
spark plugs are the essential electrical system of internal combustion engines. Its main function is to ignite combustion, thus providing thrust to the engines.
Spark plugs transmit electrical energy from the coil in high-voltage sparks. These voltaic arcs, produced inside the engine chambers, ignite the mixture of fossil fuels with high-pressure oxygen, generating the necessary force to move the pistons and expel combustion gases.
The first internal combustion engine using voltaic arcs was designed by Isaac de Rivas in 1807. The fuel it used was hydrogen obtained through water electrolysis. Two hundred years ago, there was consideration of using the most abundant element in the universe as an energy system, but political and economic powers chose the burning of oil.
Spark plugs are the simplest yet most complex electrical element in an engine. They not only serve to generate ignition but also to dissipate heat from the engine chambers.
It is contradictory that an element whose one of its functions is heat dissipation contributes to the main cause of global warming on Earth and, consequently, to the melting of the poles, which naturally shares the same function of dissipating Earth’s heat.
In the majority of the automotive and aerospace industries, this internal combustion mechanism is used as the sole source to produce mechanical energy, which has led, due to its excessive and exclusive use, to irreversible consequences for the environment. Billions of spark plugs flickering at every moment: electrical energy misused, a function that releases CO2 (carbon monoxide) into the atmosphere. It’s a use of electricity for archaic and environmentally depleting mechanical purposes.
**Spark-un-Plug** is a system of physical and conceptual feedback based on the number 3.
The piece consists of a matrix of 300 spark plugs, divided into small 3×3 matrices that repeat in tessellation. These spark plugs with three anodes are controlled independently and emit high-voltage electrical energy to a block of ice placed in front of them. When the audience places a coin in a collection box, it activates the piece, and at that moment, values from three types of sensors are obtained: one for temperature, another for CO2, and another for humidity. These physical and chemical processes are monitored in real-time. The data obtained is used as an intervention in the artwork.
The high voltage generated by the spark plugs, a phenomenon in which an electric charge travels between the cathode and anode of the system, is the visual and auditory event, a result of the dialogue between the two systems: the generator of the patterns of electrical discharge in the matrix and that of the environmental balance and life support, water.
The voltaic arcs of the spark plugs in the matrix represent simulations of the states of water:
– Liquid: simulation of rain.
– Solid: simulation of geometric patterns of ice crystals.
– Gaseous: simulation of gaseous fluids.
Water stands out as the most recognized element in nature; however, its complexity is equally unparalleled. The atomic bond formed by two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom is among the most stable in the natural world. The energetic potential of water is vast, and its intrinsic connection with electrical energy is of fundamental significance. The amalgamation of hydrogen and oxygen atoms results in the creation of water, accompanied by the release of electrons.
Water in nature follows a hydrological flow cycle: it rises as vapor, flows as a liquid, and solidifies.
Spark-un-Plug is based on the number 3, the simplest scientific formula, and the theological representation of the deity. Its electronic logic is binary, 1 and 0.
Water is the spiritual element of existence; it represents purity, rebirth, the energetic flow of the spirit to another existence, communication with divinity. It is present in all theologies and is constantly debated through scientific, empirical, and metaphysical methods, seeking to balance its mystery.
Electricity is a phenomenon of nature that is changing human consciousness.
In Spark-un-Plug, the spark plug, like the retro-generating mechanical heat dissipator, will confront and pay symbolic tribute to the natural heat dissipator of the planet: ice. Through this arrangement, it will communicate to us the danger of its extinction, rising as vapor to dream of the future continuation of its vital natural cycle.
Spark-un-Plug, a project driven by the conscious use of energy.
