Since we were together in the Scientific Delirium Madness residency of the Djerassi Foundation in the summer of 2019, I have been collaborating with choreographer/dancer/movement artist Daiane Lopez-DaSilva, visual artist and designer Michael Koehle, and media artist and data scientist Weidong Yang as part of a collective group making intermedial installations and performances. Our most recent collaboration is Aurum, the subject of a three-month residency at the 836 Gallery in San Francisco in January-April 2023.

Aurum is an interactive installation and performance which engages with the speculation and profiteering of Silicon Valley through the lens of the history of the Gold Rush, comparing their relative impacts of population displacement and ecological disruption and destruction. This work employ cymatics (the visual representation of sound vibrations) in combination with haptic feedback (which employs the sense of touch) to translate electromyographic (EMG) signals into a multisensory experience allowing for tactile, kinaesthetic, auditory and visual engagement. Water is omnipresent in this work as the medium for the cymatic representation of sound, and represents the literal displacement of the waterfront and its ecosystem under economic pressure, from just near the present location of the 836M Gallery to its current location blocks away. Shallow pools of water, manipulated by sound waves, are used to represent San Francisco’s ecological environment, while images representing San Francisco’s coastal transformations are reflected through the water and refracted by its waves.

In the mid-19th century, San Francisco’s population grew from a few hundreds to tens of thousands, attracting immigrants from around the world. We are in a disruptive transition era analogous to that time of proliferation, as developments in AI are growing exponentially, often without regard for the intertwined human and ecological impacts. As during the gold rush, when greed for profit took terrible ecological and human tolls – especially on the indigenous population and on exploited workers – we need to take time to reflect on our place within a delicate ecosystem, an ecosystem which now includes the intimate relationships between humans and the digital world.

Aurum will creates a space for that contemplation, using reflections of dancers and spectators alike in shimmering golden light as a metaphor for the chimera that has at times led to careless excess and abandonment, while also representing notions of balance and harmony between humankind, nature and technology that could be a part of San Francisco’s future, if we take action to make that future. We tend to think of technology as distancing, but employed creatively and judiciously, technology can serve as a means of connecting meaningfully with the processes of our bodies, and even with our thoughts and emotions: we hope to allow members of the audience to experience that potential in Aurum through multi-modal experiences that engage with the difficult issue of unbridled technological development versus sustainability and care.

Aurum is the Latin word for gold, but can be understood as money or wealth, or as something noble and beautiful. This title also references the aurality of our proposed project, as sound is the generator of movement and light in this work employing cymatics, visual manifestations of sound waves. Aurum takes a multi-modal, multi-sensory approach to create an interactive dance performance and participative installation that renders bio-data audible, visual and haptic. By engaging with multiple forms of perception, we hope to be as inclusive as possible in terms of audience participation and appreciation. The cymatics are closely linked to somatics: while sound is the driving force of the visual elements of the work, the sound is generated from data produced by body sensors worn by the dancers in the performance.

There will be four repeat performances over the course of four weeks - on each Friday evening of April 2023 – to create an intimate and immersive experience for a limited audience at each showing (also in accordance with COVID-19 prevention recommendations).