TELEPHONE REWIRED
Telephone Rewired is an immersive audiovisual art installation and scientific experiment examining the role of oscillations in the brain and the future of human cognition. As viewers enter the exhibit, the surrounding oscillations of light and sound begin to dominate their perception. Using previously documented techniques to manipulate the viewer’s dominant electroencephalography (EEG) frequencies with light and sound, the viewers’ brain oscillations synchronise with the installation’s frequencies, stimulating the brain’s endogenous waveforms, including beta (focused attention), theta (deep relaxation) and alpha (calm awareness). Viewers don an EEG monitor to create a neurofeedback loop and the experiment begins. Flashing images appear, and the resulting event-related potentials (ERPs) are captured and written to disk for subsequent analysis. Images continue to appear, some immediately seen and others hardly noticed. As the frequencies of the flickering and beating installation modulate brain oscillations, they affect the viewer’s consciousness. After experiencing a cycle of frequencies, viewers exit to complete memory testing and a subjective report. Oscillations from the previous viewer influence the progression of frequencies experienced by the following viewer, and this carry-over connects each individual’s personal experience with those of other participants. This direct sharing of brain oscillations provides a model for novel communication methods as human consciousness transforms into more distributed networks.Willful alteration of physiological and cognitive processes will become increasingly important as humanity progresses and will become increasingly possible as we develop greater neuroscientific understanding. Existing at the intersection of art, science, and technology, Telephone Rewired gives viewers a visceral experience that demonstrates the role of brain oscillations in cognition, while concurrently engaging viewers in scientific research about these oscillations. The work invites viewers to consider the potential of neurofeedback and the future of augmented collaborative cognition.
About the artist:
LoVid (the interdisciplinary art duo of Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus) and Sean Montgomery are New York-based collaborators, interested in the human body and its relationship with technology. LoVid has performed and exhibited their DIY audiovisual works around the world including at Science Museum Jerusalem, Museum of Moving Image, Eyebeam, Netherlands Media Art Institute, The New Museum, and MoMA, and has received support from rhizome.org, Franklin Furnace, and Experimental Television Center for a collaboration with Sean Montgomery. Sean Montgomery is an artist, inventor, scientist, and engineer. Sean is particularly interested in using emerging technologies to create new ways for people to interact with one another and the objects around them. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications in the field of neuroscience and presently directs an engineering shop in New York City. His recent art works have been shown in museums around the world including ISEA 2012.
LOVID & SEAN MONTGOMERY [US]