Beneath the Skin: Biophysical Signals as a Creative Medium, April 10, 2026, 3–4:30pm

When: Friday, April 10, 2026, 3–4:30pm
Where: JHB100 (1st floor), Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St George Street, Toronto.
Note: This is a free public event. Please register via the Eventbrite link.

This presentation explores an art–science research-creation practice that uses biophysical sensing as a medium for interactive and computational art. Central to this work is The Source (biomeci.com), a biosensing platform developed to enable artists and researchers to incorporate physiological signals directly into responsive media systems. The Source supports real-time capture of multiple biophysical signals, including electrocardiography (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), and respiratory effort (RSP).  

Professor Mark-David Hosale (Computational Arts, York University) will introduce The Source and demonstrate how physiological signals provide insight into affective and physiological states and how these states can be used to shape audiovisual, haptic, and multisensory outputs in interactive artworks and performances. 

Ilze Briede [Kavi] will present her academic research and artworks that use The Source, including the collaborative works, Somatic Interventions (2022) and Reimagining Living Ontologies (2024), both of which have resulted in scholarly publications. She will also discuss her current PhD research exploring brain data (EEG) and cybernetic feedback systems in artistic practice. 

Together, the presentation examines how biophysical signals can function not only as measurements of the body but as expressive materials within embodied and cybernetic media systems that expand the sensorium of computational arts. 

To learn more about the speakers, visit our website.

Registration

This is a free public event. Please register via the Eventbrite link.

Acknowledgements
This event is organized by the Jackman Humanities Institute Working Group Performing Gestures, Producing Cultures: Towards an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Human Movement.
Sponsored and hosted by Jackman Humanities Institute.
Presented in partnership with ArtSci Salon (artscisalon.com/) and BMO Lab (bmolab.artsci.utoronto.ca).