Shomit
Barua
Entrainment 718
2024-25 Scottsdale Museum of Contemprary Art, 40ft x 11ft
60 minute multichannel video installation with real-time audio-reactive processing of 12 channel/spatial audio
Entrainment 718 is part of a series of phenomenological experiments that explore the theme of spatial and temporal disorientation. Inspired by the NY MTA, this audio-video installation employs several motion-based illusions and perceptual distortions: 1) the Doppler effect, 2) Moire interference patterns, 3) skewed parallax (binocular disparity), and 4) the Wagon wheel effect. “Entrainment” refers to the synchronization of organisms to an external perceived rhythm.
Using original footage of the Brooklyn F Train, Entrainment 718 recreates the hypnotic and transcendental states that are produced by repetition and the visual, acoustic and haptic polyrhythms that occur on trains. Most notably, the panorama is a single-channel vertical video repeated 8 times with each instance offset by 16 frames; the visual elongation of the image is achieved through a repeated temporal and physical displacement.
Extended Desc:
Entrainment, originally entitled Entrainment718, was inspired by a hundred-foot stretch of the Brooklyn F train that connects the subterranean to the above-ground. On this transitional stretch, the visual interplay of regularly-spaced pylons against haphazardly strung high-intensity work lights causes a skewing of parallax—looking out the window, depth perception becomes distorted, as though suddenly careening through a starfield. Entrainment is an exploration of that sense of disorientation, and the hypnotic and transcendental states that often emerge from the repetitious visual, auditory, and haptic polyrhythms experienced aboard a moving train. This project continues to grow, include footage from rail-based public transportation from around the world.
Audio consists of a multi-channel sound system arranged linearly. The original musical composition (16mins) consists of several textural layers that are distributed spatially, running up and down the multi-channel array in gated sequences. The effect is that of a passing train, while also evoking the rhythmic quality of being on board the train. Each channel is synced with the video panel directly behind it and when that audio channel is active, a variety of visual effects is applied to the corresponding panel. In this way, one can visually track the sonic placement of sound in space (source-bonding [1] à la Denis Smalley’s Spectromorphology). Additionally, a haptic channel plays infrasonic polyrhythmic patterns.
2023 Mesa MIX Center w/ technical assistance from Henry Beach, 22ft x 4ft
The auditory (score length vs spatial distribution), visual (footage vs effects programming) and haptic layers are all cycles of different lengths. As they loop, the layers stack in new combinations. This gestalt of sensory information that drift in and out of synchronization is an example of the nested or overlapping rhythms described in Henri Lefebvre’s Rhythmanalysis [2], in which the body becomes a metronome that not only observes but feels—embodies—temporal perception.
Most notably, the panoramic is actually a single-channel portrait-mode video (60mins) shot on a camera-phone, repeated 14 times and mirrored vertically. Each column is an instance of the original footage offset by 23 frames; in essence, they are pulling from the “memory” of the video, and placed side by side, they become stitched together to form what appears to be a panoramic view. The perceived elongation of the image is achieved through a repeated temporal and spatial displacement.
As a phenomenological experiment, Entrainment draws from a number of concepts from neuroscience and psychotherapy:
- The frame delay between each offset column is variable; when processing in real-time, the number of frames delayed can be modulated (via OSC or MIDI) to slow down or speed up the cascade of images. This variability plays off the elastic perception of time—when cortisol spikes under acute stress, people often report a slowing down of time. Memory becomes denser as more sensory information is processed per unit of time.
- The linear arrangement of the images and sound is designed to emulate the lateral eye movement experienced in deep sleep. Side-to-side eye movements are tied to internal visual processing and memory consolidation. REM sleep plays a key role in processing emotional memories, especially those with strong visual or affective content. The amygdala and hippocampus are both highly active during REM, and lateral eye movements may support integration of experience, emotional regulation, and the formation of semantic associations.
- The left-right travel of auditory, visual and haptic cues mimics the use of such techniques to treat PTSD in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy. The multi-sensory rhythmic patterning causes bilateral stimulation, activating both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This is thought to help integrate fragmented traumatic memories, which are often stored in a disjointed or somatosensory form (right hemisphere) and not fully processed by language- and logic-dominant regions (left hemisphere).
Entrainment only refers to such concepts as a compositional tool for artistic expression; the use of such media-rich environments to support therapeutic efforts has yet to be fully explored. However, Entrainment is designed with flexibility to respond in real-time to data streams (e.g. EEG) to facilitate interdisciplinary study.
REFERENCES
[1] Smalley, D. (1997). Spectromorphology: explaining sound-shapes. Organised Sound : An International Journal of
Music Technology, 2(2), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771897009059
[2] Lefebvre, H. (2004). Rhythmanalysis: Space, time, and everyday life (S. Elden & K. Wright, Trans.). Continuum.
(orig.1992)
