ART Habens Byron Rich
Gallery , the same venue where I staged my thesis show .
I ’ ll explain the project some .
We are using EEG data to control the conditions inside a custom built and designed incubator and transilluminator . Inside the incubator resides an eGFP HeLa colony . The life of this colony is determined by the data gathered via EEG .
On a most basic level it attempts to get viewers to realize that actions produce unseen or intended consequences , not matter how seemingly devoid of intention those actions are .
Second , we wanted to delve more deeply into the subjectivity of data analysis and interpretation , and the dangers that exist when data is filtered through bias and presented to the public as fact . The underlying pure data may be objective , but how it is presented is often deeply subjective . To that end we chose to utilize EEG , or electroencephalogram . EEG is a deeply misunderstood technology , one that the public generally has very little understanding of . Anecdotally we noticed that many people seem to believe that somehow EEG is able to read their thoughts , control impulses , etc . In reality EEG data is just a glimpse into what is happening inside the brain as it monitors spontaneous brain activity via minute changes in electrical patterns . It isn ’ t the witchcraft it is believed to be . Even the placement of electrodes to monitor electrical brain activity is highly subjective , differing from individual to individual . The idea that we are reading peoples minds and that is what is controlling the system is completely wrong . It is a highly subjective system by design .
Lastly we wanted to investigate the idea of body sovereignty , and agency , especially those who are part of marginalized sectors of society . We chose the highly contentious and often used HeLa cell as our subject . The
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