Medulla Intimata 2001-2004
Medulla Initmata is a necklace that contains a video screen and biometric sensors. The sensors (using analysis of the emotional tone of the conversation) monitor the wearer’s emotions to guide real-time video-generation that evokes a sense of seeing beneath the surface of the skin, exposing the emotional and physical inner body.
MEDULLA INTIMATA is a hybrid new media work mixing public intervention with jewellery, fashion, performance, bio-metrics, technology and moving image.
video jewellery project
The collaboration
is a collaboration between award winning Australian video and installation artist Tina Gonsalves , and London based artist/engineer, Tom Donaldson. MEDULLA INTIMATA is a necklace that contains a video screen and biometric sensors. The sensors (using analysis of speech and tonal range of conversaton) monitor the wearer's emotions to guide real-time video-generation that evokes a sense of seeing beneath the surface of the skin, exposing the emotional and physical inner body. Video is displayed on the screen embedded in the jewellery.
The imagery displayed is an emotional portrait, an exploration into the secret life of the emotional, physical, spiritual and psychic body of the wearer. To the wearer, the jewellery is both a foil and a wound. At times the jewellery will distract attention, and say things that they are not able to say for themselves. At other times, it will expose internal thoughts and feelings that the wearer would not wish shown. At times the portrait will become the dominant force in a conversation, leaving the wearer isolated by their own self-expression.
The performance
Tina Gonsalves and Tom Donaldson will be wearing Medulla Intimata: responsive video jewellery in the bar, simply chatting with other bar-flys. Medulla Intimata reflects, comments and interacts with the artists’ conversations, displaying its bored, neurotic or flirtatious thoughts in generated video on a screen inside the necklace.
As you chat with Tom or Tina, Medulla Intimata distracts, leads and confuses the conversation, leaving both you and the wearer discomforted by its playful but intimate voyeurism. To add to the sense of voyeurism, the video output will also be projected on the walls of the space, allowing others in the room to look-in, judge and resolve that their conversations will be more interesting or more intimate. Despite the informality of the show, everyone in the room becomes very aware that they are watching and being watched, judging and being judged, in the process of simply making friends and flirting with strangers.
exhibition
ICA, London, 2004
Banff Center for the Arts, 2003
Opera House, Sydney, 2004
ISEA, Los Angeles, 2004
ICA, London 2004
Institute of Arts and Sciences, Japan
