Jessica Feldman

thebodyisaportthebodyisaportintomassivedarkeness (2007-ongoing)

interactive video and sound performance piece. Jitter/max/MSP patch, live and pre-recorded video, live and pre-recorded sound, epileptic performer.  This is documentation of the video projection and the sound.

In thebodyisaportthebodyisaportintomassivedarkness, the involuntary behaviors of a living body trigger images and sounds, which feed back and affect those very behaviors that are serving as the triggers. I perform the piece, and it is in some ways specific to my body, because it capitalizes on the sensitivity of my nervous system. Having epilepsy, I am hypersensitive to loud noises and flashing lights, both of which can trigger a seizure and certainly can trigger heavier breathing, faster heartbeat and the fluttering of the eyes. In this piece, I use a video camera trained on my eye to trigger a separate, prerecorded video of flashing lights and video feedback each time my eye blinks or closes. The sound is a live and pre-composed mix of audio feedback and the sounds of the machines that make up the piece (the churning of my laptop, the fan on my laptop, the sound of the video camera operating, etc.). Each time my eye opens, it also triggers the sound of my heartbeat, which grows more excited throughout the piece. The moments of rest that the body imposes on itself turn into moments of intense sensory stimulation that thereby affect the bodies of the performer and audience, in an attempt to create a communal sensory experience of an extremely personal and unique neurology. The staging of the piece is important as well. Through carefully set angles and lighting, the silhouettes of the audience (who sit in front of me) are reflected in the pupil of my eye, which is blown up in the projection of my eye, which appears before them, thereby involving their presence and my personal perspective of their presence.