The first fully working prototype ‘Emotion Light’ is exhibited at
this year’s ISEA in Belfast. The Emotion Light is a sculptural light
that uses biofeedback technology to visualize the holder’s
physiological state. To achieve this, changes in physiological data
like GSR (galvanic skin response), heart rate and movement are
tracked and translated via code into changes in light patterns. This
artwork avoids the explicitly medical or therapeutic uses of
biofeedback technology to explore the less literal complex
relationships between sound, colour and bodily response.
The emotion light is wireless and non-invasive. The visitor is asked
to listen to an emotive sound sequence whilst holding a quirky light
sculpture which responds live to changes in the viewers biosignals.
The work aims to make people consider how much the body and emotions/
feelings are interlinked.
The uterus-like shape is simultaneously reminiscent of a ram’s head
and spermatoids. This ambiguous sculpture renders the internal body
visible on the outside and allows for an introspective and embodied
experience. This piece also relates to the artists earlier works,
such as Receptive Mo(nu)ment: a site- specific installation in
Gloucester Cathedral where she recreated a womb environment by
enlarging the pinopods found in scanning electron micrographs of the
uterine lining. Pinopods are small protrusions thought to be
indicative of whether an embryo can implant in the womb but much
remains unknown about them. By enlarging the microscopic to the
macroscopic a new relationship to the body is created. Van ‘t
Klooster also tends to choose those areas of science where there are
more questions than answers and the area of emotion research is one
of those areas.
Talk at ISEA: From physiological input to the Emotion Lights, by
Adinda van 't Klooster, 28th of August, 2 pm, Waterfront Hall, Belfast
Adinda van ’t Klooster is an international artist who works with
sound, light, installation, animation, sculpture, electronics and
computer generated performance. She creates multi-sensory experiences
in often site-specific and collaborative contexts. She is currently
in the process of completing an AHRC-funded practice-based PhD at
CRUMB, University of Sunderland. Her work explores the areas where
art and science overlap. She is interested in how developments in
science and technology provide new ways of looking at the body, the
mind and the start of life itself.
The Emotion Lights project was supported by the Arts Council England,
the AHRC, STEIM, AMAP, Primate Productions, the University of
Sunderland and the National Glass Centre in Sunderland
http://www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ARTISTID=8405
www.crumbweb.org
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