OSCILLATIONS

Object No. 2004/42-1

A Radiating Body turns to the not-so-distant past, when the body still held mystery and medicine still had a touch of magic about it. This replica of a multi-wave oscillator machine, built by Angas Vivian Jones in 1970s Sydney, is at once a homemade therapeutic device, and a container for desire, faith and an irrepressible spirit of invention.

Miyuki Jokiranta presents and produces ABC Radio National’s documentary program, Earshot. Her work has aired on the BBC, NPR and the European Broadcasting Union. Miyuki fell in love with radio arts while curating Soundproof and has created expanded documentaries for MONA FOMA, Radio Revolten and BLEED festivals.

With thanks to Neil Wilson, laboratory manager at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne and amateur radio enthusiast, Eloise Oxer, Bruno Sacco and Tony Kerselaers at Multi Wave Research for the use of their recordings.
Interested in learning more about the multi wave oscillator? Check out Multi Wave Research, and the Melbourne Electronics and Radio Club.

Oscillations is presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design is by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

Object No. 87/234-1

The PB/5 pedestrian crossing button is a celebrated icon of Australian design. Its renowned sound became part of an independent movement for social change, and the audio tactile pedestrian button became an irreplaceable feature in our neighbourhoods. In Push to Walk: A People’s History of the Pedestrian Button find out how the PB/5 pedestrian button came to be a fixture on Australian streets from the people who helped make it happen: engineers, Vision Australia advocates and the blind and vision impaired communities.

Producer Jane Curtis is an award-winning producer of podcasts and radio documentaries. Her podcast Inner West Icons is a sound-rich, playful tour of Sydney’s inner west.

Sound engineer John Jacobs is an international award-winning ABC sound engineer. He brings sounds and voices together to tell engaging stories with warmth, humour and surprise.

Narration by Bernie Hobbs. With thanks to advocates: Bill Jolley, Deputy Chair of Vision Australia; Susan Thompson, Advocacy Advisor with Vision Australia; Graham Innes, lawyer and former Australian Disability Discrimination Commissioner. With thanks to engineers: Frank Hulscher, traffic engineer at the NSW Road Transport Authority; Graeme Patterson, traffic engineer at the NSW Road Transport Authority; Louis Challis AM, acoustical engineer at Nielsen Design.

Oscillations is presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design is by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

Object No. 97/254/1

Alexandra Spence’s work explores earth’s material relationship with space via satellite disposal and debris, and the uncanny historic connections between electronic music and space exploration. Travelling through orbits, life cycles and transmissions, Stellar Nullius reconsiders the earth’s atmosphere, not as a liminal zone, but as a provisioning body whose wellbeing is deeply intertwined with our own.

Alexandra Spence is a sound artist/musician based in Eora (Sydney). Through her practice Alexandra reimagines the intricate relationships between the listener, the object, and the surrounding environment as a kind of communion or conversation. She has presented her work worldwide and released music with Room40, Longform Editions, MoreMars (with MP Hopkins), Canti Magnetici, and Mappa. Find Alexandra on Instagram and follow her work on Linktr.ee.

With thanks to the interview subjects: Dr Annie Handmer, Professor Iver Cairns, Alan F Jones, Dr Sarah Reeves, Martin Gotfrit. Work title borrowed from Elizabeth Povinelli.

Oscillations is presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design is by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

Object No. 88/394-1

The Moral Frontier is a mosaic of thoughts, yarns and poetic reflections on the history of the Native Police, particularly the Native Mounted Police in Queensland. By reflecting on this history, The Moral Frontier exposes confronting truths about the pervasive relationships still at play in our society today.

Content Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this audio work contains the voices of peoples now passed. The Moral Frontier contains confronting and distressing themes related to colonial and frontier violence.

Dakota is a Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr man based on Turrbal Country. He is an educator, a researcher and interdisciplinary storyteller. His work consists of poems, installations and reflections that engage with Country, culture, history and healing. Dakota believes in healing Country and our communities through art and storytelling. Find Dakota on Instagram.

Special thanks to Boe Spearim of Frontier War Stories and Heather Burke from Flinders University.

We acknowledge the unceded sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, and the old people who fought, sacrificed and resisted the invasion, dispossession and colonising tactics employed by the crown.

We also acknowledge the ongoing resistance of First Nations Australians today.

Oscillations is presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design is by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

From heartbeats to brainwaves, economic cycles to cosmic orbits, oscillations can be found everywhere. These seven stories bring Dakota Feirer, Alexandra Spence, Jinghua Qian, John Jacobs and Jane Curtis, Miyuki Jokiranta, Omar Musa and Sally Olds into Powerhouse’s Collection of over 500,000 objects to explore the stories behind them.

Ranging from the poetic to the musical, the journalistic to the personal, these audio works offer stories, interpretations and investigations, bringing new light and sound to the Powerhouse’s Collection.

Presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Still from the beginning, the middle, the end, 2021, video, single channel, 15 mins and 1 second. Image: Zan Wimberley.