Personality, 2010
PMMA board, microcontrollers, LEDs, wires

Each LED of this panel is connected to a microcontroller (a little computer) that runs a program that regulates its lighting and power off.

The program that all microcontrollers run is the same: 1/4 of the time on, 3/4 of the time off.

In C language

void main(void)
{
int i;
while(1) {
for(i=0;i<100;i++) LED_On();
for(i=0;i<300;i++) LED_Off();
}

The microcontrollers are all identical and are industrially made in the same production lot.

When the program starts running, the lighting is perfectly synchronous.
But, after few seconds, each microcontroller shows differences in the measuring of time and the lightings become asynchronous.

The viewer can reset the microcontrollers by pushing the central button of the panel, making them synchronous… until each one starts to show its own personality again.

Exhibition: Immersi in un mare di luce (Plunged into a sea of light)
Date: September 22nd 2010 – October 30th 2010
Location: Mya Lurgo Gallery Piazza della Riforma 9, Lugano – Switzerland