A Durational Performance Using Visualized, Sonified, and Other Data Translation from Portable EEG Technologies in Mental and Physical Training

In the moment of complete engagement in any activity, we function without conscious thought—referred to as ‘the zone.’ Digital technologies, from mobile devices to the Internet, can be a constant source of diversion; however, can digital tools help us get into the zone more quickly rather than simply distract us? Using open-source software and hardware, I have developed a real-time data visualization and sonification that have been recorded as performances on the website Mind & Matter, the project accompanying this paper. The performances are filmed in different locations and the visualization geolocates these locations, comparing them to the cell towers within the area. The project seeks to show waves within and around our body that are normally invisible. Each performance seeks to train both my brain and body to find stillness within. The paper is informed by the communications theorists and artists studied throughout the Communications and Culture program. I seek to answer Catherine Malabou’s question of “What We Should Do with Our Brains,” and how we might find agency in our brain plasticity though technological extension.