Draw the ripples of the ceiling's hum.SUMMER'26.

Hum and infrasound are invisible pollutants. The act of using a phone or a microphone to "draw" the sound wave on a screen is, in itself, an act of photographic and visual capture.

 Technology, Infrasound, and the Visibilization. Artivism Environment, summer 2026 

Exhibition, designs, research and photographs by Celia Karina San Felipe.

THE PURPOSE

Drawing the waveforms of the ceiling’s hum—this is a form of art and activism against the noise pollution that affects countless households in every country around the world. Based on my own personal experience during the summer of 2026 in Washington, D.C., I developed these designs and photographs with the aim of modifying mobile device software to make infrasound and low-frequency microphones available—specifically as an opt-in feature that users can enable or disable directly on their phones.

"Drawing the Waves of the Ceiling's Hum" by Celia San Felipe.

Through the lens of contemporary art, this work validates the artistic merit of frequency graphs (waveforms) and spectrograms—elements typically associated with abstract data art (Data Art). These visual representations of sound, presented alongside her artistic photographs, visually demonstrate how technology serves as the "eye" that bears witness to the degradation of our habitable environment.

Integration: Technology integrates the sequence of waveforms as a piece of visual evidence within the photographic exhibition; the call to software manufacturers thus ceases to be merely an isolated text, transforming instead into a concrete proposal for technical and environmental justice—signed by the "ARTIVIST" Celia Karina San Felipe. The work demonstrates that contemporary art can harness real-world data to advocate for the health of both the planet and its people.

• Clean Air Act: Originally enacted in 1963, the key expansion regarding noise pollution occurred via the Clean Air Amendments of 1970. Under Title IV of these 1970 amendments, the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) was formally established within the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
• Noise Control Act: Specifically enacted on October 27, 1972. This is the core federal statute dedicated exclusively to setting noise emission standards for commercial products, machinery, and transportation systems in the United States.

Initially, the low-frequency acoustic pollution was localized, affecting only 25% of the bedroom ceiling area, which allowed me to avoid the stimulus by moving my bed to a cancellation node. However, the energy input from the source subsequently increased, expanding the resonance zone to 50% and 70% of the room. This increase in acoustic pressure and amplitude is precisely what enabled the hardware to exceed its detection threshold and visually record the sequence of the phenomenon.

 Many current mobile phones (such as Motorola and various Android brands) include active background noise cancellation systems that automatically erase low frequencies, leaving the screen completely flat and the recording empty. If your phone cannot capture or visually draw the infrasound, you do not need to purchase an expensive device. You can solve this for approximately $70 USD with the following setup:

1. The Hardware: Purchase an accessible external plug-and-play condenser microphone (such as entry-level models from Røde or Shure, available around $70 USD) that connects directly to your phone's USB-C or Lightning port. These devices have larger physical diaphragms capable of sensing the mechanical pressure of the air.
2. The Software: Download a technical recording application from the store, such as ASR Voice Recorder or Fossify Voice Recorder.
3. The Configuration: Go to the app's settings, look for "Audio Source" or "Microphone Mode," and select "Unprocessed" or "RAW" (Audio sin procesar). This bypasses the phone's internal filter, forcing the software to display the real wave sequence (waveform) on the screen.

With this simple $70 USD solution, anyone experiencing this problem can formally visualize, graph, and listen to the environmental pollution affecting their home.

 As women, we now possess the technology to objectively verify and prove complaints against the low frequencies and infrasound that pollute our lives. Furthermore, the laws in the United States protect us against this specific form of acoustic degradation. The real question is: What will the landlord or the responsible party do when presented with this formal, technologically backed complaint? How will those in power react to ensure that the technology of our time and the laws of our time are actually true, respected, and effective?