Sonic Body: Architectures of gesture

This interdisciplinary event explores how bodies perceive sound, and connect through movement and sonic sculptures. Conceived by choreographer Adrienne Hart (Founder of Neon Dance) and artist-researcher Dr Ana Rajcevic (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Sonic Body transforms gestures into vibration and sound through a series of wearable, sonic prosthetics inspired by the structural mechanics of spider webs.

The project is inspired by the visionary artist/architect duo Shusaku Arakawa (1936–2010) and Madeline Gins (1941–2014), who during their later careers focused on ‘procedural architecture,’ using specially designed built environments to actively engage with and challenge the movements of the body. Together, they fostered an ongoing process of learning, adaptation and enhanced perception, with the aim of revolutionising the way in which people perceive and interact with their surroundings. Just as Arakawa and Gins envisioned architecture as a living procedure that continually reshapes perception, Sonic Body takes inspiration from the spider’s web as another kind of dynamic architecture – one that is structural and communicative.

This CRASSH event begins with a participatory workshop, in which attendees will have the opportunity to experiment with the wearable sculptures, guided by Hart and Rajcevic. Following this, Dr Marta Gentilucci (Assistant Professor in Composition, Faculty of Music) and Dr Rachel Coombes (Downing College Research Fellow, History of Art) will briefly introduce the interdisciplinary ideas underpinning the project. Hart and Rajcevic will then delve into the artistic, technological and philosophical aspects of their collaboration, before opening up the discussion to audience members.

No experience or knowledge of dance or performance is required – only curiosity and a willingness to engage physically and playfully with sound! This is a live experiment in ‘sensing together,’ inviting us to reimagine the body as a site of connection.