#brighthearts

George Khut's BrightHearts Research

Art, aural spaces, healing, and meditation, have often been considered intertwined. The act of practicing art has been described this way, but now with the help of cross-disciplinary technology comes artworks that can induce meditative states, capture participant’s attention, and allow them to understand their own bodies further, through body-led soundscapes. Australian artist George Khut has been working with sound artists, technologists and pediatricians to create both iPad apps and physical spaces that create meditative feedback loops for those undergoing painful medical processes. The trick is taking participants attention away from their anxiety or pain, while simultaneously drawing their attention to the inner workings of their own bodies using biofeedback.

One such example is his ongoing BrightHearts Research with pediatrician Dr Angie Morrow – a project that is now being used by children with chronic illnesses in clinical settings. This tablet computer game is designed to lower the child’s heart rate, promoting relaxation in moments of anxiety. While there are no buttons to press or explosive images to entertain, the game subsumes the user’s attention in the act of helping themselves to achieve a desired mental state. The process involves a heart rate monitor and earphones connecting the child to a tablet computer. Through the animation on the screen, the child can visualize their current anxiety levels. Though their headphones an aural soundscape provides the patient with further information on how well they are doing in-game – the more attention is given to the process, rather than the anxiety, the higher in tone the melodic and calming music. It is hoped that the skills learnt with Khut’s art game can eventually be repeated by the patient in other scenarios.