2017–2018 · VR breath biofeedback · Museum and public programmes, Miami

SEAing Breath

A participant puts on a VR headset and a breath-sensor belt and finds themselves under the sea. Their breathing — not a controller — moves them: inhaling and exhaling changes their movement and the water level around them, shown on a sea-level gauge. The work turns sea-level rise, a slow and abstract threat for Miami, into something felt in the body, and was used by children and adults in museum education and public programmes across Miami-Dade.

Co-created by Hannes Bend with Maria Mishurenko and Gordey Chernyy, in relation to the Sea Level Rise Program by Miami-Dade County and the University of Miami.

Adult visitors at the Frost Museum of Science, Miami, experiencing SEAing Breath with VR headsets and breath-sensor belts — Visitors experiencing SEAing Breath at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Miami, 2017.

Inside SEAing Breath: underwater scene with anemone, kelp and a HIGH / NORMAL sea-level gauge — Inside the virtual environment: an underwater scene with the sea-level gauge that responds to breathing.

Trailer

SEAing Breath, 2017–2018 — trailer

Plays only when selected. Watch on YouTube.

Documentation

Students at the Frost Museum of Science trying SEAing Breath VR breath-biofeedback headsets — Students in a museum education programme, navigating with their breathing rather than a controller.

Hannes Bend wearing the SEAing Breath VR headset and breath-sensor belt at Blue Mind Life, Frost Science Museum, Miami — Blue Mind Life: The Seven Ages of Water, Frost Science, hosted by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, August 2017.

Inside SEAing Breath: green underwater light, a fish and the sea-level gauge — Inside the virtual environment: green underwater light and the sea-level gauge.

SEAing Breath project-documentation collage: process of creation, project mission, museum activations and participant responses — Project-documentation collage: process, mission, museum activations and participant responses.

SEAing Breath project poster — VR breath biofeedback for the Sea Level Rise Program, Miami-Dade County and University of Miami — Project poster (document). Open to read at full size.

Presentations

Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
2017 · Museum presentation — Blue Mind Life: The Seven Ages of Water
Frost Science retrospective
Pérez Art Museum Miami
2017–2018 · Museum public programme
Project archive
HistoryMiami Museum
2017 · Museum public programme
Project archive — process
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
2017 · Museum public programme
Project archive
Miami Center for Architecture & Design
2017 · Public presentation
Project archive — mission

Selected press and documentation

Date: 2017–2018
Medium: Virtual reality, breath biofeedback, immersive installation
Status: Exhibited — museum and public education programmes, Miami-Dade
Context: Commissioned in relation to the Sea Level Rise Program by Miami-Dade County and the University of Miami
Co-creators: Hannes Bend, Maria Mishurenko and Gordey Chernyy
Hannes Bend's contribution: Concept, artistic direction and breath-biofeedback interaction design
Program partners: Miami-Dade County and University of Miami

Sources

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