[Works] Nirvana?

NIRVANA?

Visualization of heart activities

Concept

How can you control your heart and direct it into a certain state?

“Nirvana” in Buddhism means “blowing out the desire (fire) in heart completely” – that is, blowing out the fires of greed, love, hatred, delusion and so on. Nirvana is the ideal state of mind that is free from suffering, and transcends beyond life and death.

This artwork “Nirvana? ” attempts to make “heart activities” visible. The viewer is positioned to experience how sentimental and responsive his or her own heart can be, and to meditate on the question whether Nirvana is possible?

“Nirvana? ” is an interactive installation. The interactive feedback – images of fire will be reflected by the changes found in viewer’s heart rate. Through mediation, the viewer experiences how his or her heartbeat can be influenced. As viewer’s real heart activities initiate, a fire of blossom will set off subsequently.

Interaction Design

The participant would enter a serene space. He or she will experience different kinds of natural sounds, for example, wind and rain. Any transition of sound scenarios could affect the participant’s emotion, which will lead to a real-time visual interaction, such as a variety of 12-leveled flames.

Ultra Wide Band Non-Contact Sensor（UWB）will detect and compute the changes of the viewer’s heartbeat in real-time, as well as to alter the reflection of a flame instantly.

Technical Description

“UWB” applies Ultra Wide Band radar technology to measure any small displacement of the chest cavity and can measure heart rate simultaneously.

Heart rate variability is valid for evaluating the status of people’s emotion. In this artwork, the changing rate of each participant’s heartbeat is used for interaction and visualization.

UWB technology uses electromagnetic wave impulses to detect movements and the power of electromagnetic waves are less than 0.1 percent of normal cellular phone. The sensor can be placed at a distance without any contact to its viewer.

Team

Executive Producer: Creativity Lab, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)

Concept / Art Director: Shu-Min Wu

Sound Artist: Fang-Ting Huang

Visual Artists: Cheng-Ya Liu, Ling-Hui Lin, Chih-Haw Huang, Ching-Min Shu

UWB Technical Director: Teh-Ho Tao

Supported by Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan R.O.C.