Multichannel Generative Video Installation + EEG
Exhibited as part of the Worlds Amongst Us group exhibition
Audain Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Exhibited as part of the Worlds Amongst Us group exhibition
Audain Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Recollection of the Disappeared is a generative multichannel video installation that explores the cognitive mechanics of dreaming and identifies when dreaming occurs during the artist’s sleep cycle. A memory network is created using 75 VHS recordings of the artist’s childhood, filmed between 1996 and 2006. These recordings serve as a memory archive, manipulated in real-time based on brainwave data captured by an EEG device. As the artist sleeps, the EEG headband transmits brainwave data to a generative system, creating a visual "dream spotter." Higher activity associated with deep sleep (Delta) and dreaming (Alpha and Theta) results in clearer images, while less activity leads to more pixelation in the network.
Bridging the aesthetics of the glitch with the antique and grainy texture of the VHS tape, this work is a playful take on the Memory Consolidation theory with a nostalgic touch.
The presented video features snippets of three stages of sleep. The snippets have not been edited.
Three channels of the video installation. From right to left: Video of the artist sleeping, real-time brainwave data, generative video (dream spotter)
On the left:
Delta (deep sleep) is peaking and Alpha becomes noticeably more volatile while dreaming (REM). These parameters change the behavior of the system, dissolving the glitch network and allowing for the emergence of the videos. Delta and Alpha control the glitch amount and the video shuffle speed respectively. This experiment was executed four times, spanning over a 5-6 hour sleep cycle. The dreaming window ranged between 13-27 minutes within the cycle.
On the right:
On the right:
The artist is falling asleep, Delta waves are considerably lower in activity while alpha rises in intensity and fluctuates spontaneously. During this time, as well as during Non-REM, the glitch network powers up, becoming more volatile and creating chaos in the videos.