Artist invites a fresh perspective on the San Antonio River
By Kory Cook
March 13, 2026 at 12:30 PM CDT
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"Hydrosynthesis" is a sound and video piece now at cactusBARN in San Antonio’s King William neighborhood.
Artist Justin Boyd has made field recordings from San Antonio's river system for many years. Those recordings are now part of this show, which is a collection of audio pieces drawn from the river and generated through a video synthesizer.
Boyd said "Hydrosynthesis" is a way to see and hear something new out of a regular encounter already familiar to us.
“This river’s an important part of our city, but we walk along it and we look at it — and it kind of fits in the background, and it just works as a landscape in a way," said Boyd. "I was thinking about how we can reengage, or look at it in a different way, to kind of bring new energy or life.”
Artist Justin Boyd, creator of display "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Boyd uses a modular synthesizer to process an incoming signal — in this case — of water. A video synthesizer creates varying images of floating, vibrating lines with dark purple and blue hues. The illustrations are generated from the audio captured underwater by a hydrophone.
Video image generated from audio for Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4714x3536, AR: 1.3331447963800904)
Video image generated from audio for Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4691x3519, AR: 1.333049161693663)
“I like it because I can take frequencies of the sound spectrum and point those things to different areas of the modular synthesizer and have those areas react to specific audio frequencies,” said Boyd.
The door to Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (3024x4032, AR: 0.75)
"Hydrosynthesis" features five pieces that work as separate compositions with ever-shifting video imagery. Audio from the river was sampled near the Blue Star Arts complex, the legendary Blue Hole on the University of Incarnate Word campus, Confluence Park, and from local river barges.
Located in the King William neighborhood, cactusBARN is an artist-run exhibition.
You can see and hear Justin Boyd’s "Hydrosynthesis" until May 1 by appointment by visiting @cactusbarn2023 on Instagram.
"Hydrosynthesis" is a sound and video piece now at cactusBARN in San Antonio’s King William neighborhood.
Artist Justin Boyd has made field recordings from San Antonio's river system for many years. Those recordings are now part of this show, which is a collection of audio pieces drawn from the river and generated through a video synthesizer.
Boyd said "Hydrosynthesis" is a way to see and hear something new out of a regular encounter already familiar to us.
“This river’s an important part of our city, but we walk along it and we look at it — and it kind of fits in the background, and it just works as a landscape in a way," said Boyd. "I was thinking about how we can reengage, or look at it in a different way, to kind of bring new energy or life.”
Artist Justin Boyd, creator of display "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Boyd uses a modular synthesizer to process an incoming signal — in this case — of water. A video synthesizer creates varying images of floating, vibrating lines with dark purple and blue hues. The illustrations are generated from the audio captured underwater by a hydrophone.
Video image generated from audio for Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4714x3536, AR: 1.3331447963800904)
Video image generated from audio for Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (4691x3519, AR: 1.333049161693663)
“I like it because I can take frequencies of the sound spectrum and point those things to different areas of the modular synthesizer and have those areas react to specific audio frequencies,” said Boyd.
The door to Justin Boyd's "Hydrosynthesis" at cactusBARN (3024x4032, AR: 0.75)
"Hydrosynthesis" features five pieces that work as separate compositions with ever-shifting video imagery. Audio from the river was sampled near the Blue Star Arts complex, the legendary Blue Hole on the University of Incarnate Word campus, Confluence Park, and from local river barges.
Located in the King William neighborhood, cactusBARN is an artist-run exhibition.
You can see and hear Justin Boyd’s "Hydrosynthesis" until May 1 by appointment by visiting @cactusbarn2023 on Instagram.