In Robert Vlasák's project for Gallery 3, he works with an original “shellac” record whose mechanically created groove becomes the basis for a new sound reality. The sound installation Sources of Sources (2025) explores the question of how sound is created, transmitted, and transformed under specific conditions. It examines the possibilities of transferring sound from a matter medium to an acoustic form, into which other elements of technology, noise, and reflections enter.

He approaches the sound transmission of shellac records in a contactless manner, working with the optical reflection of the modulated surface of a rotating gramophone record. The mechanical principle of sound track creation is complemented here by an element of uncertainty during recording, with occasional harmonic tones or instrumental sound fragments appearing. The installation combines physical principles with the playfulness of technical solutions. The sound is not only audible, but also "visible" in the process of its creation. Although it is played from a recording (a gramophone record), it is created for us authentically, unrepeatably, and immediately in the given moment. Thanks to the technology used, sound can be produced without the time limitations of the original gramophone technology. We observe the transformation of a historical (to us unknown) footage into a current sound experience – from a mechanical imprint, through analogy transmission of the sound signal, to its transformation into digital wireless listening technology. The resulting audio track is a kind of synthesis of a small section of the rotating disc. It is not about the purity and fidelity of the recording, but about the process of sound creation and its rediscovery in space.

Robert Vlasák (*1978) works at the intersection of art and design. His artworks combine physical principles with technical solutions and playfulness, opening up new ways of perceiving everyday objects. He has long been interested in data transfer, means of communication, and observing the partial principles of how materials function. His work is characterized by technical experimentation, sensitive integration of physical principles, and a site-specific approach that connects technology with aesthetic experience. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno University of Technology (under doc. Jan Ambrůz). He lives and works in Ústí nad Labem, where he co-leads the Studio of Natural Materials at the Faculty of Art and Design UJEP.