In Conversation With The Body

In Conversation With The Body is a continuation of the ideas that I first explored in A Body Not Bound By The Same Limitations, particularly the use of Arduino-powered PPG (Photoplethysmographic) circuits. In this piece, the two performers stand either side of the harp and use small push-pull solenoids to strike the strings of the harp. These solenoids are driven by the pulses of two non-performing participants, meaning that the resultant sound is a concatenation of two independent tempi. A flashing light is also connected to the PPG sensors, providing a visual representation of each participant’s pulse.

The piece was co-composed with harpist & composer Liucilė Vilimaitė through a series of devised workshopping sessions, and as such, the final score of the piece is more of an aide-mémoire than a set of instructions for future performers. In Conversation… is fundamentally a prototype for future pieces involving electro-mechanical performance devices and will hopefully be the first in a future series of works which explores the relationship between self and machine.