modular sonic sculpture can be reconfigured to foster creative exchange

supa system installation is a flexible and adaptable

Joseph Zeal-Henry and Deborah Garcia present the SUPA System, a human-scale installation exploring the relationship between music and communal gathering spaces. Inspired by commercial billboards’ aluminum frames, the modular and open-source structure draws from diverse architectural traditions, offering a flexible platform for collaboration.

The SUPA System, launched at Harvard University, features a versatile design with no fixed dimensions, allowing it to adapt to various environments. Set on hinges, the flexible structure’s walls can be opened or closed, while a semi-transparent gauze can be hung across the grid for film projections, enhancing its functionality.

joseph zeal-henry and Deborah Garcia foster collaboration

Designed by Joseph Zeal-Henry and Deborah Garcia to encourage creative exchange, the SUPA System can be replicated by fabricators worldwide using open-source designs. Collaboration with a sound engineer ensures high-quality sound production, with materials carefully selected to support speaker performance.

With a blend of low-fi and high-tech fabrication techniques, including CNC-ing the speaker boxes, the SUPA System invites participation without emphasizing individual authorship. Taking a playful and critical approach to the idea of infrastructure, the installation facilitates collaboration and exchange with other people. 

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project info:

name: SUPA System
designers: Joseph Zeal-Henry | @josephzealhenry – Deborah Garcia | @theblankwall

sound design: White Rabbit Audio

visual identity: Lauren Harewood, SOAKE

aluminum fabrication: URSA Concepts

photography: Malakhai Pearson

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