Fraunhofer MEVIS presents as a research partner, jointly with Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF), and York Mediale 'The Tides Within Us' at SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 Art Galleries. The artwork is an ongoing exploration into the world beyond the limits of our senses at the intersection of art, science, and technology; where does the living body begin, and where does it end? By peering under our skin we reveal the tidal rhythms of oxygen flowing through the branching ecosystem of the human body. The aim is to challenge notions of boundaries between us human beings and our environment.

Fraunhofer MEVIS teamed up with MLF, one of the world’s leading immersive art collectives, and presented the work last year in collaboration with York Mediale, an international new media arts charity that celebrates York as the UK’s first and only UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts the cross-sectoral project.

'The Tides Within Us' presentation is available from 17 December, 2pm-3pm (GMT +9, Japan Time) till 11 March 2022 on the virtual platform VISIBLE / INVISIBLE / artg_133 on demand.

The talk by artist Barnaby Steel from Marshmallow Laser Feast will premiere on Tuesday, 14 December.

From the Artist Statement:

MLF’S work illuminates the hidden natural forces that surround us, inviting participants to navigate with a sensory perception beyond their daily experience.  In these spaces, the known physical world is removed to reveal networks, processes, and systems that are at once sublime, underpinned by research, and fundamental to life on Earth. The project 'The Tides Within Us' investigates the flow of oxygen through the cardiovascular system, painting a picture of a human body as a fluid event, more like a whirlpool than a static object. This flow questions the boundary of where this living body begins and where it ends.

'The Tides Within Us' reveals a complex system that intimately ties animals and plants, humans and the natural world, into a wondrous rhythm that underpins life on Earth. MLF’s work embeds the audience within an abstract world and invites them to bring this world further into being, both individually and collectively; experience prioritized over passive contemplation.

There have been up to ten mass extinction events in the Earth’s history. Nearly all have been caused by an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide: too much oxygen and things get cold; too much carbon dioxide and things get hot. In an age where excess carbon dioxide is fueling climate change, the simple act of breathing can engage us with this cycle in an intimate way, and in doing so, help us reflect on our dependence and responsibility to the organisms we share the planet with. It may also re-engage us to the 2700 liters of oxygen-laced blood that circulates our body each day – and to the indebtedness we owe to the fallen autumnal leaf.
 

Presentation THE TIDES WITHIN US at SIGGRAPH Asia 2021

SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 – Art Gallery Trailer

Interview with MLF on ‘The Tides Within Us’