At the core of my research project a stone is a stone is a stone lies a materialistic breakdown of magnetic audiotape, a medium composed of three layers: a base layer, a magnetic emulsion, and a coating. In the right proportions, this material is capable of receiving, storing, and playing back audio signals. The key active element in audio tape is iron oxide, of which magnetite (a naturally occurring ferromagnetic mineral) is the most fundamental form. Inspired by dutch composer Huba de Graaff, who experimented with this idea in the ‘80s, I have developed a working formula for a pigmented paint that is capable of recording and playing back audio signals. In my research, I use finely ground magnetite, which is mixed into a suspension to form a paint-like substance and applied to a transparent film; the magnetic fields are then aligned to optimize coercivity.
The magnetic emulsion can be painted on various formats of leader tape (from cassette to 2-inch tape), which allows me to playback and record through a variety of tape recorders. The next question is how we can listen to the paint on a two-dimensional surface, since tape recorders do not have extendable tapeheads. Therefore I am currently collaborating with sound engineers to adapt a tape head into a handheld device that allows me to record and listen on two-dimensional surfaces. This process blurs the established boundaries between medium and recording; it also shifts playback from linear to non-linear, enabling me to navigate audio signals across time without restriction [see sonic brush].
During Murf/Murw festival in 2026, four painted plexiglas panels were part of the installation The serpent, the alien and the stone, an interdisciplinary collaboration between Het Concreet, serpent player Berlinde Deman and performance collective Spa for Spirits.
exhibition photo’s: Heleen van Outheusden