Marusya Nesterova




chess  v2
chessboard and synthesizer2025
An interactive installation exploring the mathematical structure of sound. This instrument is an attempt to hear chess logic based on the mathematical structure of sound. Under each square of the board there is a reed switch that closes an electric circuit when a magnet installed in a piece approaches. When the contact closes, a note sounds, the latin name of which corresponds to the musical note of the same name in rows 1 and 8 and its overtones in rows 2-7. The sequential combination of sounds builds a unique musical movement of each chess game. 
The instrument promotes the Fischer arrangement (chess 960), thanks to the element of accident providing a variety of developments of the game and, accordingly, possible melodic moves. 
The instrument is dedicated to the senior inspector of "Medical Hermeneutics" Vladimir Fedorov, who proposed translating the text of a chess game into a musical score.

wood, acrylic, plexiglass, polymer clay, magnets, arduino, raspberry pi, pure data

Technical engineer: Alexander Bedin
vdrebezgi (into smitherees)
total installation and cycle of performances2024
physical violence was there from the very beginning, but I successfully pushed it out of my memory, as well as other unacceptable manifestations in the form of insults or threats.

I started recording our quarrels on a dictaphone at first to let him listen, waiting for an insight. then I recorded them for myself - to think about later. but I didn’t listen to the recordings again for years, until I decided to leave.

he hit me in the face, slammed my head against the wall. I defended myself and kicked a couple of his teeth out. afterwards, I documented the beatings in the hospital, and he said, “I know you liked it too.”

it’s easy to find yourself in a cycle of violence without having a clear idea of ​​the norm.

from old nightstands are heard scraps of insults, blows, my sobs, children's cries, shards of glass sparkle on the floor, in the closet are stored what was filled with love for me - my poems and our song. it’s all over, and I’m no longer in this room.
STONinteractive  sound  installation2024
In creation myths, stones are often mentioned first, reflecting the history of the formation of our planet. The first rocks arose more than 4 billion years ago and became the cause of life. Megaliths were often used in rituals, and many cultures and countries in Europe used magic stones. Even now, some scientists are researching whether stones can "breathe" or have an "aura".
Stones also contain matter, connecting the past with the future. Touching a stone is an immersion in history, an attempt at non-human communication, and for some, contact with the supernatural. If we need to provide everything around us with soul for democracy and equality, let the stone have one too. Let the stone have a voice.

found stones, microphones, sound amplification
speak so that I can see youinteractive  installation2024
The voice is one of the components of a person's appearance, forming their image in society. The timbre of each person's voice is unique, like the retina of the eye or a fingerprint. Many people do not like their own voice in a recording. This is the point at which internal sensations do not coincide with external ones. What if the reflection in the mirror had a voice? What would it say?
The work uses voice cloning technology. During 60 seconds of interaction with the object, the viewer's voice goes through analysis, cloning and synthesis, and then the answer is played in the headphones.
At the moment of the answer, an image from a webcam is shown on the screen, which records fragments of the speaker's speech.
Everyone who decides to let their voice sound receives an answer from themselves.

- program code
- microphone
- headphones
- webcam
chess v1
chessboard and synthesizer2020 - 2023
Under each cell of the field is installed a reed switch, which reacts to a magnet built into the chess piece. When the contact is closed, sounds a note, the Latin designation of which coincides with the name of the cell – on the 1 and 8 rows – and its overtone on the rows 2-7.
This tool is an attempt to hear chess logic, using traditional modal-harmonic thinking as a basis. Recommended for playing Fischer chess.


- arduino mega
- max msp
- reed switches


elastic metal bodymusic for robot2023
Performance "Elastic metal body" for the UR robot-manipulator and found metallophones. Within the framework of the Crossmedia workshop of Katya Pryanik and Sasha Serechenko at the Rodchenko School.

The first experience of collaboration with a robot is an attempt to find a common language, to establish communication. I chose the language of music and made instruments from the objects found in the non-ferrous metal, hanging them on ribbons from nylon tights. The blows of the robotic arm against the elastic metal bodies, springing on the elastic matter that once belonged to man, remind me of meditation for robots in a world that has survived a man-made disaster.

Special thanks to Light Your Mind company — for the opportunity to cooperate, training and support

UR10 robotic arm, found metal objects, nylon tights
what to do?soundscape for exhibition2022


A short sound work made for a room with two objects - "Make the invisible visible" (Sonya Tregubova) and "Teach things not to get lost" (Yasya Yarzhombek) at the final exhibition of the children's studio DEZ No5 in GROUND Solyanka.
Programming is dictated by meaningful names of objects. In working on the sounds, I used field recordings and developments from my Cricket Prepared project, ice cracking in the Gulf of Finland and a child's voice.
According to my idea, being in the room was supposed to create the effect of looking through a magnifying glass, when crisp ice scatters into streams of cold spray, building dynamic spaces in which the insect's calling signal is transformed into a pedal of an inhuman choir.

Cricket Prepared/Cookedwebsite: music, food, community2023



website about research and preparation of house cricket for food and music

2023 ©Marusya Nesterova