At WHYNoT on the 4th floor of Karravin Plaza, two sound artists negotiate the boundary between mechanical noise, generative code, and the vernacular energy of the street.
Inside WHYNoT, situated on the 4th floor of Karravin Plaza in Manila, the ambient air carries a distinct tactile charge: a mix of low-frequency hums, dangling patch cables, and the rhythmic swing of heavy brass pendulums. Following a solo exhibition with Vinyl on Vinyl the week prior, sound artists Gil Kuno and Marco gather here for an intimate, high-voltage live performance where sound is not merely listened to, but physically engineered, sonified, and set loose.
Ahead of the show, Kuno (a veteran media artist with thirty years in noise, audiovisual systems, and experimental music) and Marco (a kinetic sculptor, instrument designer, and member of the art unit Somatonic) sat down to untangle the philosophy driving their work. Together, their conversation cuts through the sterile conventions of contemporary media art, grounding high-tech experimentation in subcultural grit, mechanical history, and raw street energy.
1. The Myth of the Digital: Coding as Chaos Engine
In an era obsessed with sleek digital finishes and algorithmic polish, Gil Kuno takes a radically pragmatic, almost hostile view of computers. For Kuno, technology is not an aesthetic identity; it is simply an unpredictable co-conspirator.
“Sometimes I say I’m a noise artist or a chaos artist. I design these systems so that it helps chaos create something for me, and I usually collaborate with the results,” Kuno explains. “Computers are just a method to realize something in your mind. It’s just a tool. I’m not trying to create digital art; I’m just using any means necessary.”
Despite a background in media art, Kuno freely admits to hating programming. Rather than seeking clean, orderly execution, he embraces glitch, friction, and analog workarounds. His recent work incorporates 1960s “flip-dot” displays, the electromechanical technology once used for bus destination signs, driven by hidden microcomputers. The appeal lies in invisible mechanics and persistence: technology that doesn’t demand attention for its own sake, but acts as a vehicle for kinetic disruption.
[System Design] ---> [Generative Noise / Code] ---> [Unpredictable Output] ---> [Artist Collaboration]
2. Re-engineering History: The Harmonograph Sonified
Where Kuno introduces algorithmic chaos, Marco grounds performance in physical mechanics. For the performance at WHYNoT, Marco brings a custom version of a harmonograph, a 19th-century mechanical drawing machine powered by swinging pendulums.
Originally built as a sound sculpture for the Listening Biennale at UP Diliman, the machine was initially an interactive piece where gallery visitors generated pen-and-ink geometric drawings through acoustic vibrations. For tonight’s show, Marco modified the apparatus into a live, played instrument alongside Kuno.
“I sonified it so it makes sound as the pen draws on the plate,” Marco notes. “It’s my first time playing it as an instrument… We were infatuated with the rhythm it produces because of the pendulum.”
By taking an antique drafting tool, attaching acoustic sensors, and placing it on stage with Kuno’s electronic systems, Marco transforms a passive historical curiosity into an evolving, performative feedback loop.
3. Medium as Message: Flipping Cognitive Switches
When asked whether abstract noise or mechanical kineticism needs an overarching narrative message, both artists push back against traditional thematic heavy-handedness. Citing Marshall McLuhan’s dictum that the medium is the message, Kuno draws a lineage through art history where physical tools unlocked radical aesthetic revolutions:
- Van Gogh & The Tube of Paint: The invention of the collapsible aluminum paint tube in the mid-19th century allowed artists to abandon studio color-mixing and paint directly outdoors (en plein air), unleashing impressionist textures and thick, sculpted brushwork.
- The Aerosol Can: The arrival of spray paint provided a rapid, high-pressure medium that unleashed graffiti culture and transformed public architecture into an ongoing dialogue.
- Generative & Kinetic Media: Contemporary sound tools and sonified machines flip the paradigm of the artist as sole creator, turning gallery visitors or live audiences into active participants.
“I don’t think there’s a theme necessary at all to be art,” says Kuno. “Art needs to be something that gives you a ‘wow factor’, something that flips your paradigms. It may not be beautiful, but if it flips a switch inside your brain, then I think it’s art.”
4. Sonic Geographies: Tokyo Underground vs. Manila Vernacular
The conversation shifts to geography and subcultural infrastructure. Comparing their experiences across Asia, Marco and Kuno highlight the stark operational differences between Tokyo’s experimental noise circuit and Manila’s local scene.
In Tokyo, the noise underground operates with surreal, clockwork efficiency: experimental gig listings are indexed online, translated, and begin precisely at 6:00 PM sharp. In Manila, the underground thrives on informal networks, word-of-mouth recommendations, and an unhurried, organic rhythm.
Yet, both artists find deep resonance in Manila’s vernacular soundscapes, specifically Budots, the hyper-local, frantic electronic music genre born in Mindanao that spread across jeepney speakers and TikTok.
“Budots is this organized chaos and random, out-there sounds,” Marco reflects. “You used to hear it blasting on jeepneys without knowing the name… People connect with it because they’re hearing the harmony of their own life and relating to it.”
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CULTURAL SONIC SPECTRUM │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ TOKYO EXPERIMENTAL │ │ MANILA VERNACULAR │
│ • Hyper-indexed noise │ │ • Budots & Jeepney sound│
│ • Clockwork precision │ │ • Organic, street chaos │
│ • Intimate, gear-focused│ │ • High-energy resonance │
└──────────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────┘
5. Democratizing the Machine
Ultimately, both Gil Kuno and Marco resist the notion that kinetic and sound art belongs solely inside high-end galleries or private collections. For Marco, the true measure of a piece is how it functions when stripped of art-world pretension.
“I love when my art is experienced,” Marco shares. “When a security guard during his break makes a drawing on the harmonograph, or the roving guard on duty at midnight plays with my buzz machine, I love that. Public art, things that are interactive… I like people experiencing my art.”
Whether through a 19th-century pendulum drawing machine, a bank of 1960s bus flip-dots, or raw electronic noise, Kuno and Marco’s collaborative practice at WHYNoT offers a compelling blueprint for contemporary media art: one where technology is unmasked, noise is embraced, and controlled chaos becomes a universal language.
