Beginning in 2012, We are = Movement creates pop-up events and establish what they term “embodied public spaces” where body literacy remains the focus. By collectively engaging with their bodies, participants find importance in corporeal knowledge. One project in particular, titled Heartbeat Soundscapes, involves amplifying stethoscopes to fill a public space with the sound of passerbys’ heartbeats. Instead of being stopped by a visual, those who engaged in the space were drawn in by a change in auditory sensations. We Are Movement notes the results of this embodied engagement stating: “Rather than the usual responses to sounds of traffic, sirens, honking & cell phone conversations, we observed people holding their hands to their hearts, others gazing at the people whose heartbeats were being amplified, some stood with their eyes closed, others smiled.” Ultimately, the work engaged the public through a common denominator and reconstructed knowledge about the body beyond the dominance of the visual.
Heartbeat Soundscapes on the radio
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Featured image by By Mikael Häggström via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMan_shadow_with_organs.png