T H E
B R A I N  M A C H I N E

The prototype brain machine, based on the experiments of Brion Gysin, was built by Testcard in 1999 for the Circulations Festival at the Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton UK. A program was then constructed in Director in order to generate audio brain frequencies.

The machine was used on a large number of people in 2000 at the 2nd International Experimental Festival of Performance Art at the Manege in St Petersburg. Then at the Art/Science Festival CYNET in Dresden in 2001, with the project title 'Transmit', through a collaboration with the artist Malcolm B. Dick under the collective Liquidstatic and the performance artist Emilia Telese.

In 2001 the company IC-Berlin from Berlin constructed the machine optics to our design, based on the mystic Kabbalah.

The Kyiv International Media Art Festival will feature the Butoh dancer Esther Hoyuelos, whose brain frequencies will be used to synchronise the frequencies of members of the audience.

The Testcard Transmit project features:

Adrian Shephard
Matt Grey
Malcolm B. Dick
Esther Hoyuelos
Amanda Price