At The Venice Biennale 2005 you can visit Mariko Mori's
installation 'Wave UFO' showing in the Arsenale site. The installation
utilises technology from Siemens, Body Media biomedical sensors and
3 specially modified stereo coherence IBVA EEGs.
A time based interactive installation, the experience
must be perceived to be believed. An assistant leads 3 visitors at a
time into the Wave UFO, where they recline on a Technogel soft surface.
There is a 7-minute projection in a 360 degree domed ceiling above.
Each viewer is outfitted with a set of electrodes, which gather brainwave
data. This information is instantly transformed into visual imagery,
in real-time correspondence with the actual activity of the brain, and
projected onto the screen: Six undulating bio-amorphous cells represent
the left and right lobes of each of the three participants' brains,
and a waving line moves in correspondence with blinks and other facial
movements.
This
instant biofeedback thus incorporates the experience of watching the
projection, and the interaction between the three viewers.
The forms change shape and color in response to three
types of brainwaves, showing which type is most dominant. Alpha (blue)
waves indicate wakeful relaxation, Beta (pink) waves indicate alertness
or agitation, and Theta (yellow) waves indicate a dreamlike state. When
the two cells come together, that demonstrates "coherence" between the
two lobes of the brain. Mental functions such as thinking in other languages
or doing maths problems immediately transform the characteristics of
the graphics.
