Studio Nick Verstand has created AURA, an immersive audiovisual installation that materializes emotions into a perceptible, physical form. The audience’ own emotional experience manifests as organic, pulsing light compositions of various form, colour and intensity. The installation further explores light as a medium, pioneered by artist Anthony McCall.
The transformation of emotions into light is accomplished by a scientific system, developed in collaboration with the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research. Using multiple wearable biosensors, the system registers brainwaves, heart-rate variability, and galvanic skin response. From the sensors, emotional “data” is analyzed and metamorphosed into its symbolic representation as light. The differences in individuals’ emotional responses, being influenced by a musical composition, become visible to all who are present.
AURA explores how this perceptual process influences the understanding of ourselves and of each other. The installation symbolises the materialisation of (internal) metaphysical space into (external) physical space.
Aura was showcased during last month’s Dutch Design Week, from 21 to 29 October 2017 in Eindhoven, as part of an exhibition called We Know How You Feel.
images by Hanneke Wetzers and Noortje Knulst