We were able to restage and document Dual Brains recently. Many thanks to Art-A-Hack and the support of Thoughtworks and Volumetric Society.
Dual Brains investigates human neural interaction. It is an OpenBCI real-time brain data-driven performance, conceived for Art-A-Hack collaboration and led by me. With custom EEG headgear and sound by Aaron Trocola, OpenBCI programming by Gabe Ibagon, projected visuals by artists Pat Shiu and Gal Nissim. What an awesome team! It was such a pleasure working together, each person contributing their vision and skills in order to pull together this unusual artwork.
The project is inspired by neuroscientific research which indicates that human brains are fundamentally hard wired for empathy, especially under conditions of duress. The performers’ brain data is visually presented while they focus their minds on emotionally charged memories, first without physical contact and then while holding hands. Sound created from EEG and ECG data. Performance duration, 3 minutes.
We hope to continue developing Dual Brains to further explore interpersonal neural processing. We aim to build public dialogue on the profound implications of the role of empathy in social and psychological well-being.