Sergey Skurtu and Olesya Vashchenko / Lacrima

Engineer: Alexey Gryzlov

Lacrima

2025

Electroacoustic object

Courtesy of the authors

The project entitled Lacrima (Latin for 'tear') exists at the intersection of art and technology. It is simultaneously an art object, an engineering device, and a water-powered drum machine – an instrument that creates electronic rhythms.

Sergey Skurtu and Olesya Vaschenko's installation is a system of two connected reservoirs. The upper one is equipped with three drippers (making the object three-part). Thanks to the law of communicating vessels, water rises through the tubes and, as it falls, beats out rhythms on contact microphones. It then flows into the lower reservoir, where it is pumped back, and so the cycle begins again.

The speed of each dripper is regulated by valves and depends on the water level in the upper vessel: the higher the water level, the higher the pressure and, consequently, the frequency of the drips. Although each tap produces its own frequency, their consonance creates a complex, almost chaotic soundscape.

The principle of Lacrima's sound production harks back to ancient instruments such as Heron of Alexandria's 'Singing Mechanical Bird', invented in the first century CE. Water was poured into a special vessel, displacing air. Emerging from a narrow spout, the air flow created a sound reminiscent of birdsong. Indeed, the tradition of synthesising technology and nature in art goes back centuries, and the emergence of modern art objects based on the same principles as centuries ago demonstrates the boundless potential of this union.