Beyond Absolute
by Reiko Yamada
The project Beyond Absolute is an artistic research project in collaboration with researchers at ICFO (the Institute of Photonic Sciences).
The main component of the project is the creation of personalized acousmatic soundscapes based on the data generated by the LUCA diagnostic device in conjunction with sonic alterations that represent the subjective mindset of the patients.
The LUCA device uses ultrasounds and lasers to determine whether nodules in the thyroid are cancerous or not. This is a fantastic medical advance, because it’s infinitely less invasive than the current practice, which requires a biopsy. But it still entails working only with physical data, and doesn’t take into account the subjective experience of the patients.
In my project, I map the output data of LUCA device into variety of sound parameters, but I also find creative ways to integrate those with elements that reflect the perspective of the patients. The result is that each time the device is used, the algorithm I’m developing will produce a short piece of music that combines the two types of information. I’m hoping this could serve as a conversation starter for physicians and their patients, that will allow them to take each other’s perspective in consideration.
Reiko Yamada is a composer and sound artist, originally from Hiroshima, Japan, and currently working on a project in Barcelona, Spain. She composes concert works, creates sound art installations and works with interdisciplinary collaborators. Her work explores the aesthetic concept of imperfection in a variety of contexts.
Yamada holds a D.Mus in composition from McGill University, and is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards and fellowship. She was a 2015-16 Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University, the 2016-17 artist-in-residence at IEM (Institut für Elektronische Musik und Akustik) and the 2018 Innovator-in-Residence at Colorado College. Her various projects have been commissioned and/or funded by New Music USA, the Canada Council for the Arts, IRCAM (the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music), CIRMMT (the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology), the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Armitage Gone! Dance, the Zentrum für Orgelforschung der Kunstuniversität Graz, and the European Commission among others. Her works have been presented in venues such as The Metropolitan Museum Breuer (New York), Boston Symphony Hall and Centre Pompidou (Paris). She is currently STARTS (Science, Technology & the Arts) artist-in-residence, collaborating with medical and photonics researchers on a project about thyroid cancer.
