Oh!m1gas. A Biometric Stridulation Environment 2008 - Kuaishen Auson.

This week, while still trying to come to terms with what is or isn't considered to be relational art, I by chance discovered this work by Kuaishen Auson (Oh!m1gas. A Biometric Stridulation Environment 2008).
Auson is an Ecuadorian new media artists who seems to be obsessed with ants, specifically, Ecuadorian Army Ants. This obsession has led him to create many works using the ants, and more specifically Oh1mgas which is a "biomimetic stridulation environment based on the activity of an ant colony, which is being video and audio surveilled, transforming the ants’ social interaction into information that is translated into turntable rotation. Thus, the ants become DJs of their own cybernetic ecology."
Basically, the installation is a giant ant farm which is monitored by cameras and sensors, when the ants move around and go about their daily activities, the movement/sound they generate is translated into signals that then activate a turntable with a record on it. In essence, the ants are creating the soundtrack to their own lives.
Before encountering this piece, I assumed that RA works were limited to human interaction and social relations within a determined space, but Oh1mygas made me realize that RA works are not limited to this. The artwork for me, was a really interesting because it raises questions as to whether or not one even needs to be aware of the fact that they are taking part of an RA work for it to be effective. This work also made me realize that maybe one of the aspects of RA is to highlight the fact that everyday life can be art too, which is a very poetic idea in itself.

P.S. here is a link to Auson's website with images of his work: http://kuaishen.tv/