Jane Grant and John Matthias
The sonification and visualisation of small brain circuits: Plasticity and The Neurogranular Sampler
The neurons in our nervous system are electrical. The electrical charge on their membranes changes as the neurons receive signals from other neurons to which they are connected from long tubes called axons at junctions called synapses. When this charge exceeds a particular threshold, the neuron ‘fires’; an event which is a sharp electrical signal sent down those axons to all the other connected neurons.
This talk will introduce the collaborative artistic work from the Art and Sound Research group at Plymouth University with Kin Design which has been exploring ways of triggering live sound eventsfrom artificial spiking neuronal networks at neuronal firing events. We will concentrate on two examples, the sonic and visual installation Plasticity and the musical sampling instrument The Neurogranular Sampler. In both examples the sound made by the artwork/ instrument is a disembodied neuronally triggered reconstruction of live sound.
The two examples illustrate how the temporal nature of the patterns of the firing events depend upon a delicate balance between noise in the system and the neuroplasticity which enables the neuronal connections to adapt their connectivity. This balance also dictates the rhythms of the sounds are heard in the gallery and studio/ live spaces.
Jane Grant is an artist and academic. Her work has resulted in award winning projects including, The Fragmented Orchestra with John Matthias and Nick Ryan, winner of the PRSF New Music Award and an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica 2009. The Fragmented Orchestra was at FACT and 23 sites across the UK. Her film work includes Soft Moon and Leaving Earth and Other Worlds films that draw upon astrophysics and science fiction. Ghost was premiered at ISEA Istanbul 2011. In this work the temporal, topological networks and pathways of the cortex are explored in conjunction with brain hallucination or ‘sonic ghosts.’ Plasticity, a collaborative work with John Matthias, Kin and Nick Ryan was exhibited at the BFI as part of the onedotzero Festival. With John Matthias, Jane was commissioned to create Fathom a huge sonic art work that created a sonic surface 6ft above the floor.
Jane writes about noise, science and art and the mutability of matter. She is Associate Professor (Reader) in Digital Arts at Plymouth University, co-director of the research group Art and Sound and Principle Supervisor in the Planetary Collegium, CaiiA-Node.
John Matthias is a musician, composer and physicist. In 2008, he won the PRS Foundation New Music Award with Jane Grant and Nick Ryan for the development of a huge sonic installation entitled The Fragmented Orchestra. He has released four albums; Smalltown, Shining (2001), Stories from the Watercooler (2008), Cortical Songs (2008) (with Nick Ryan), which includes remixes by Thom Yorke, Simon Tong and Jem Finer and Geisterfahrer (2014). He has collaborated with many recording artists including Radiohead and Coldcut and also with the Rambert Dance Company and artist Jane Grant in a major sonic installation, ‘Fathom’ (2013). He has performed live extensively including at the Wordless Music Series in New York, The Pompidou Centre in Paris and at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London. He is Associate Professor in Sonic Arts at Plymouth University and is co-director of the Art and Sound Research Cluster.