WILD WEAK ELECTRONICS
© Ralf Schreiber
Project information
submitted by
Prof. Martin Hesselmeier
Co-Authors
Anika Anouk Biermann, Timo Buhl, Rory Doyle, Ayşenur Eryilmaz, Zarina Iarkhamova, Melek Nur Kanau, Johannes Kretzschmar, Seoyeon Lee, Juyoun Oh, Tsz Ching Pak, Konstantin Schoser, Mengzhu Shi, Maria Smirnova, Lauren Walker, Vanishka Yadav
Mentors
Ralf Schreiber, Prof. Martin Hesselmeier
Faculty:
Art and Design
Degree programme:
MediaArchitecture (Master of Science (M.Sc.)),
Product Design (Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)),
Productdesign (Master of Arts (M.A.)),
Media Art and Design (Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)),
Media Art and Design - Study programme Integrated International Media Art and Design Studies (IIMDS) (Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) and Master of Arts (M.A.)),
Media Art and Design -Study programme Media Art und Design (MAD) (english) (Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)),
Media Art and Design - Study programme Media Art and Design (MAD) (english) (Master of Science (M.Sc.)),
Digital Technologies in Architecture and Design (Master of Science (M.Sc.))
Type of project presentation
Exhibition
Semester
Summer semester 2026
- Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 8 - Hauptgebäude / Main Building
(Erdgeschoss, 1. Obergeschoss, Treppenhaus)
Available during summaery's regular opening hours
attractive to children
Project description
In the workshop Wild Weak Electronics, participants explore a different scale of technology — one powered not by abundance, but by scarcity. Instead of relying on stable, high-energy systems, they work with tiny solar cells, harvesting minimal and ever-changing light from the surrounding environment. What emerges here is not efficiency, but sensitivity.
The objects in the windows are the result of that exploration. Hand-built circuits and small electromechanical elements gather faint light, store it briefly in capacitors, and release it in small bursts of sound and movement. This constant cycle of charging and discharging creates irregular rhythms and subtle behaviors that shift with changing light conditions — passing clouds, time of day, and shadows. Electricity here is not continuous or controlled, but intermittent, reactive, and alive.
Each module is developed individually, then combined into a shared installation. Together, they form a loose network of interactions: signals interfere, rhythms drift in and out of sync, movements echo or disrupt each other. There is no central control — only a continuous negotiation between components, stored energy, and the environment. This exhibition invites you to slow down and notice subtlety. To observe how small amounts of energy accumulate and unfold over time. To listen closely to systems that do not shout, but whisper.