Workshop Description:
Participants will receive a basic introduction to the project followed by EEG headset fitting and sensor calibration. Each participant will be provided with a 16-channel Emotiv EEG headset and laptop for the duration of the workshop.
The process will commence with individual exercises to focus the mind, progressing to paired interactions where participants attempt to generate mutually responsive brainwave activity, validated by visually coherent video effects. A neuro-feedback process will assist in maintaining focused connection while amplifying participants’ Theta brainwave frequencies – commonly associated with dream states and enhanced creativity. Depending on the success of paired interactions, the group as a whole may then attempt a combined exercise. The workshop will conclude with a brief informal discussion and reflection on people’s experiences.
This project is part of an ongoing initiative Global Mind Project. On completion of the workshop, participants will be given the choice to take part in an anonymous qualitative research study documenting subjective experiences and visual outcomes.
Participants: Meditation skills are desirable but not essential. Please note: people with very thick long hair are not ideal subjects, as it impedes the flow of signals to the EEG headsets.
Workshop Presenters:
Karen Casey is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the intersections between the arts, science and society. Her work spans a broad range of traditional and new media platforms, and her collaborations with others from diverse fields and backgrounds have given rise to some original interactive and hybrid art forms. She has a keen interest in the mind and brain science research and is the instigator of Global Mind Project, an experimental arts and cognitive neuroscience initiative. Recent exhibitions in this field include Spectacle of the Mind (artistic director) Global Mind Project launch and performance event, Melbourne, 2010; Uncontainable, ISEA2011, Istanbul; the National New Media Art Award, Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, 2012.
Harry Sokol is a digital effects designer and computer technician who has worked with leading Australian artists to develop custom designed software and technical solutions for a wide variety of projects. He has been producing applications for computers since before the PC was created, spanning a vast range of hardware platforms from mainframe to embedded microcontrollers, covering areas as diverse as 3D graphics to device controllers. He is a joint partner in Global Mind Project, for which he is the technology specialist and software designer.
