While working on my research project on data sonification, Sounding Numbers (2020-2022), I decided to explore a participatory use for the sonifications I was creating. I wanted this outcome to be an immersive, welcoming, and open space for the participants’ perception, allowing them to imagine realities and experience emotionally the scientific theories that I worked with.
In this work, I addressed ocean contamination, deforestation, neutron stars, and spaciality for a critical perspective on LOVE. I chose to use technology to extend our sensorial world of perceptions. I explored motion and heartbeat sensors, MIDI controllers, CO2 sensors, and transducers. Through this technology, the participants can change and compose soundscapes by going around a room, using MIDI controllers, or just by sending their heartbeats to a computer. They can also hear how sonifications change while measuring the amount of CO2 from the air they breathe. Or they can listen to the sounds of deforestation while hugging a tree to later plant seeds next to it.
I feel that the physical action of participation is a very strong action – an activist action. E.g. listening to deforestation sonifications resonating from the trunk of a tree, like a heartbeat of a dying species. And after listening, we plant seeds next to that tree, a simple but powerful act of redemption. In an overall sense, the beauty of these pieces lies in the space of reflection they create, allowing the participants to draw their own conclusions and engage in positive artivist actions that bring a sense of community.
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