Super High Frequency radio waves, signal noise and field recording recorded at the base of antennas between Chicago and New York, London and Frankfurt. High-frequency trading (HFT) uses complex algorithms to analyse multiple markets and execute orders. In trading vocabulary a signal is a pattern of data that influences these algorithms, inciting them to buy or sell shares or cancel an order. Since 2016 Bird and Renoult have been mapping these radio routes by finding the pylons, frequencies and relay links that transmit HFT data back and forth, in loops that cover the Earth.
In this business each microsecond is crucial, so finding the fastest and most direct paths between the main exchanges is essential. To transmit this data faster than a blink of an eye, an almost forgotten and surprisingly fast technology is used, radio waves. Since 2016 Bird and Renoult have been mapping these radio routes by finding the pylons, frequencies and relay links that transmit HFT data back and forth, in loops that cover the Earth. We are particularly interested in the materiality of speed, looking at how digitalisation results in multiple temporalities; different rhythms and paces of everyday life.
DinahBird is a sound and radio artist living and working in Paris. Her practice question the notion of diffusion, transmission and memory and is highly responsive to place. Her work includes broadcasts, soundworks, installations and audio publications that are often inspired by early communication technologies and archives. Current interests include old weather, shellac and high frequency trading. Her creations have been played on BBCRadio4, France Culture’s Atelier de Création Radiophonique, Resonance FM, Kunst Radio, through the Radia network, and have been presented at radio festivals in over twenty-five countries around the world. She is presently employed by the Paris Museum of Modern Art to develop a programme of sound workshops with vulnerable people in correlation to the exhibitions.
https://bird-renoult.net/
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