There’s just something irresistible about random objects that get down to surrounding beats, and the Morpho Towers, the two standing spirals installation is quite the eye catcher indeed. The pair of Ferrofluid sculptures were designed to stand in a platter of Ferrofluid and move synthetically to music, which translates into a magnetic field being generated by sound and creating autonomous art. Subsequently, the towers react by attracting spikes of Ferrofluid from the bottom-up, which can mold itself and transform into a variety of stunning shapes. The spike themselves are designed to rotate around the edge of the spiral cone, becoming large or small depending on the strength of the magnetic field, and by utilizing time series metadata ingrained in the music, the designers can create more dramatic scenes on the towers’ sides. So id you’re interested in what a magnetic Christmas tree might look like, be sure to have a glace of the artwork in motion.

How to make Ferrofluid?

It is quite easy to make Ferrofluid. You just need two basic materials: Dry magnetic ink ( the ones used in printing cheques ) and 100% Vegetable oil.The amount of oil you have is pretty much the amount of Ferrofluid you'll get out--about 50mL is good for starters. It would work a lot better if you added some surfactant like citric acid, oleic acid,tetramethylammonium hydroxide or soy lecithin.

The Japanese female artist Sachiko Kodama was born in 1970. As a child she spent a lot of time in the southernmost part of Japan. This area is rich in tropical flowers and plants, edged by the sea, and washed with warm rain. Sachiko loved art and literature from an early age, but also had a strong interest in science. After Graduating Physics course in the Faculty of Science at Hokkaido University, In 1993, Sachiko matriculated in the Fine Arts Department at the University of Tsukuba, studying Plastic Art and Mixed Media. Then she completed Master's and Doctoral Program in Art and Design at the University of Tsukuba. She studied Computer and Holography Art in her doctoral research.
In 2000, Sachiko began work on a Ferrofluid art project that she named "Protrude, Flow". The dynamic movement of liquids is the theme of this project. Kodama is currently an associate professor at University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo. Her work has been exhibited at Ars Electronica Centre /Linz, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Wexner Centre for the Arts/Columbus, Skirball Cultural Centre /Los Angeles, Science Museum/ Tokyo, The National Art Centre/Tokyo.

Kodama said that she started contributing her time in the Morpho Tower project because she was struck by the beauty of the Ferrofluids, especially their spikes. “Spikes symbolizes life and growth, and can sometimes also symbolize violence.” said Kodama.

According to Kodama, her first “Morpho Tower” was done solely, it wasn’t complicated at all. The Ferrofluid simply moves according to the environmental sound level. She said if a person were to speak loudly near the “Morpho Tower”, huge spikes will appear. Soon, she wanted to introduce some kinds of rhythm. So she collaborated with Yasushi Miyajima, as he knew of a special technique involving the use of digital music metadata, wherein music could be used to create rhythm and emotion like movement of the Ferrofluids.