Framed as ineffable and hence notoriously difficult to convey, Curves & Reverbs takes lived experiences of migration and exile as embodied ones to build a sense of collective intimacy through participatory performance. Drawing on over four years of experimentation with biofeedback sound, Curves & Reverbs creates an atmosphere for transmitting the intensity of my experience of migration and exile across participants using a wearable that captures emotional metrics from the body and transforms them into a dynamic soundscape. Activating biosensors in a live workflow, the performance links bodies, software, hardware, bio and acoustic signals to move beyond the crisis of imagination and speculate other-than-personal emotional landscapes of those who are stereotyped and othered. Through participatory strategies, Curves & Reverbs disrupts performer-centric conventions by having participants secure the wearable around one another’s wrist in rhythmic intervals. This shared experience facilitates a collective exploration of affective states and highlights the reciprocal influence between individual and collective expression with an aim to break the “us vs. them” dynamic. In a time when pervasive computation often comes at the cost of disrupting embodied interaction, this poetic-aesthetic approach leverages technoscientific tools to return awareness to the body and amplify interrelation and interdependence towards a sense of collective empowerment that disrupts narratives of power differentials.

Session image credits: Danial Shah

Part 1 (30 Min.): Performance
Part 2 (30 Min.): Open discussion