Plate Recorder is a digital-era homage to analog, translating sound into matter. Sounds were collected, tagged, and categorized, along with the stories underlying them. A custom-built machine etched the sound waves off fresh overglaze covering ready-made ceramic plates, creating ‘ceramic plate records’. In contrast to industrial vinyl records, the recording process does not optimize audio quality and precision. This process of translation is quite opaque as lines may overlap, the liquid overglaze flows, and environmental noise is welcomed. While recording each sound one can change its sensitivity and pace via dials and buttons, adding a subjective viewpoint to the visual interpretation.
Plate Recorder has been exhibited at the Jerusalem Design Week (Hansen House, Jerusalem, June 2018), at Cluj Ceramics Biennale (Muzeul de Arta Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, October 2017), and at the Latvia International Ceramics Biennale (Rothko Center, Daugavpils, 2018). Live Plate Recording performances were at the center of the opening events of both exhibitions.
Plates, installation, and performance
Technique: Electronics, mechanics, software, ceramic plates, overglaze
Machine size: 70\50\30 cm, ceramic plates size: 30\30 cm
In addition to Plate Recorder, Segal explores drawing and painting machines in works such as This is Not a Typewriter, Originals Factory, Random Walk 2.0, Epicenter, and Heart for the Tin Man.