The installation sentient (being), developed for the Media Showcase of the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Electric Avenue, Museumsquartier Vienna, 2010), was adapted for the temporary exhibition space Yppenplatz 9 (1160 Vienna).
Laura Skocek, Raffaela Gras and Lena Schwentenwein developed a grammar that allows a performer to communicate via movement and change the exisitng rhythm of the object. The mutual influence of performer and object evokes new behaviors in the other. The pre-recorded rhythm was derived from EEG-data during the state of falling asleep and is changed slightly with each interference.
The performance refers to our exchange with technical artefacts and the control we seemingly have over them. We live in the age of the quantified self. Physiological data is stored in order to gain insight into the behavior of people, spread of disease and used in order to produce a model of the
human mind.
How will this data be interpreted and for which purpose will it be used in the future? Will we produce artefacts that defy understanding or will we be able to come to terms with them?