To the Sooe

The MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada is also closed sine die. But before its closing, an exhibition by Erin Gee caught our attention:

Erin Gee: To the Sooe
24 January 2020 - 19 April 2020 (now closed)
MacKenzie Art Gallery
3475 Albert St, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 6X6

“What are the parallels between human and computational sensory systems?” is the question at the centre of Erin Gee’s research. Deeply invested in revealing the functional parameters of emotion, she works against dismissive attitudes that contrast emotion with logic. Gee suggests that “emotion has a real biological function to help us remember, help our bodies react to adversity, to reward us in times of comfort.” Her works translate bodily responses into machine-augmented experiences. The technologies employed—such as audio and sensor electronics act as metaphors for the human body and emotional systems, revealing the physiological processes that underlie our emotional states. Her robots, software, and compositions distort, transform, enhance, and communicate feelings and emotions as reflected in the biorhythms of our body, such as heartbeats, sweat, and vibrations in the larynx, giving visible and audible presence to feelings of intimacy, affect, and fear, as well as more abstract emotions that are not always easy to identify or validate.

Ici Radio Canada gives more details about a particular installation:

L’œuvre To the sooe est une réinterprétation du classique littéraire Les Hauts de Hurlevent (Wuthering Heights) d’Emily Brontë à travers une installation sonore. Le roman y est transformé par une intelligence artificielle où la machine tente de reproduire le style de l’auteure de la période romantique. Le texte en résultant est gravé sur la surface de l’œuvre et est récité par Erin Gee dans un enregistrement.  (Raphaële Frigon) (Translation)