An experiment & intervention investigating the impact on improvised noise making on Heart Rate Variability and coherence between two performers. This experiment used the ‘Polar10’ to measure coherence between the two of us, whilst using Aquaquinta’s ‘Sound of Soul’ - to not only measure HRV but also sonify the data in real-time - acting as a third participant in the improvised noise making.

Marianne Sice (Left) and Professor Judith Revers (Right) both connected to the Sound of Soul HRV measuring and sonification device whilst improvising vocally together at Medical School Hamburg.

2023-24 ‘Breathing Spaces’ Rooftop Garden Project - a collaboration with Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Sunderland University & Newcastle Contemporary Art.

I collaborated with artists and academics from the above institutions, to create an exhibition and thought experiment event about the benefit of rooftop garden spaces and how they could feature in the North East of England (and across the UK - following the green roof strategy already taking place in Germany and Switzerland), more specifically, beginning with designing a rooftop garden space at the gallery Newcastle Contemporary Art that the resident artists could use and then open up to public use. The event explored would the garden would look like and how it would benefit the community and featured as part of Newcastle University’s 101 Architecture conference.

Leap Motion - Gestural Control, 2023

An audiovisual performance exploring the sounds, colours, elements and emotions associated with certain organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Specific hand gestures control changes (using MIMU’s ‘Leapmotion’ technology) in the soundscape (which includes e.g. TCM healing sounds, healing frequencies and chanting) and visual projected associative images, textures and colours.

2024 - Heart Garden - in collaboration with Steve Gibson and Chris Rook, Northumbria University

An interactive virtual heart garden - which a user connects to using an ear clip measuring HRV - encourages the user to regulate their emotions and mood through interaction with the garden. The garden’s features (sunrise, trees and plants and reeds swaying in wind, flowers blossoming or opening and closing, water ripples on the pond occuring and the water moving and changing texture etc) responds to the coherence of the users Heart Rate. However, witnessing and experiencing these changes happen in real-time on a screen in front of them also impacts the user. Users are encouraged - in a gamified fashion - to use various interventions (including breathwork and meditation) to regulate their emotions and mood to see how they can influence the virtual garden and vice versa. This was launched at Urban Angel Therapy Centres - for their therapists to use and interact with as well as at Newcastle University’s 101 Architecture conference - for attendees of the academic conference and the wider public.