Marshmallow Laser Feast collaborates with Fraunhofer MEVIS to create its latest immersive artwork The Tides Within Us.
The Tides Within Us is an ongoing exploration into the world beyond the limits of our senses. The work investigates the flow of oxygen through the cardiovascular system, painting a picture of a human body as a fluid event, more like a whirlpool than a static object. This flow questions the boundary of where this living body begins and where it ends. The Tides Within Us can be experienced, as part of the Human Nature Exhibition, at York Art Gallery until the 9th May 2021.
To create this project Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) partnered with Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS pioneers in medical image computing. The Institute’s expertise in digital medicine and the MR-Lab research has enabled MLF to work with medical data at the bleeding edge of capturing techniques. The result is a series of stunning interactive screens that allow the audience to explore the human ecosystem.
The forefront of scientific exploration reveals a beauty within nature that exists beyond the limits of our perception. Scientific data sets that peer deep into the human body formed the starting point of the collaboration with Fraunhofer MEVIS. To imagine blood flowing through a heart might conjure a wonderful image, but to actually see real blood flow heart data captured by an MR scanner reveals a complexity and beauty that is almost impossible to imagine.
MLF have scaled the scientific data captured to create a human 600 feet tall, at this scale lungs look like trees, arteries like river deltas and neural pathways fire like lightning storms. The ability to play with our perception of scale and convey the complexity of the human body is driven by the fidelity of the data captured by the experts at Fraunhofer MEVIS.
This collaboration has opened new ways of seeing and experiencing our bodies. As immersive technology continues to evolve, offering new platforms for experiential and embodied learning, the potential for this collaboration grows too. The ultimate goal of the project is to change the way people learn and think about themselves in relation to the environment. Where does the human body end, and where does it begin?
In addition to the work, Fraunhofer MEVIS will be hosting an online workshop and talk on digital medicine in cooperation with York Art Gallery, to deepen the audience’s experience and foster engagement with The Tides Within Us.
After completing its exhibition in York, The Tides Within Us will evolve and expand and be presented as one of the major artworks as part of the Coventry City of Culture in June 2021. The Tides Within Us was co-commissioned by York Museums Trust, York Mediale and Coventry City of Culture. Funded by Arts Council England.
About the Artists
Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) creates immersive experiences, expanding perception and exploring our connection with the natural world. Fusing architectural tools, contemporary imaging techniques and performance with tactile forms, MLF sculpt spaces that lay dormant until animated by curiosity and exploration. Informed as much by playfulness as research, MLF breaks the boundaries to worlds beyond our senses.
@marshmallowlaserfeast
Embedded in a worldwide network of clinical and academic partners, Fraunhofer MEVIS develops real-world software solutions for image and data-supported early detection, diagnosis, and therapy. Strong focus is placed on cancer and diseases of the circulatory system, brain, breast, liver, and lung. The goal is to detect diseases earlier and more reliably, tailor treatments to each individual, and make therapeutic success more measurable. The Institute’s scientists are committed to raising awareness about how digital transformation influences health care. They design experiential on-site and online projects beyond disciplines and foster engagement with and ownership of future technology. mevis.fraunhofer.de
