Παλμός Art Collection - Audiovisual Performance (2022-23)
Παλμός (palmós), 'pulse', a 'heartbeat' is a series of generative audiovisual artworks by Pandelis Diamantides. The artworks contextualise the heart as a metaphor for emotion, and the notion of vibration as a connecting element between physical, biological, and social activity.
Data collected from a single vibration, Παλμός α' / vibration, a beating heart, Παλμός β' / a heartbeat, and the amount of movement of the crowd around a social point of interest, Παλμοί / pulses, are used to navigate the parameters of bespoke software for artistic creation. The result is an audiovisual work that explores the universal experience of cardiac activity in response to thought, emotion, and movement.
For the new collection Παλμός (palmós), that was recently launched on Sedition, you collected and used data from your own heartbeat and breath rhythm. Could you talk a bit about the inspiration behind this work? What ideas did you intend to explore?
Pandelis Diamantides: Παλμός translates to 'pulse', a 'heartbeat'. The art collection contextualises the heart as a metaphor for emotion, and the notion of vibration as a connecting element between physical, biological, and social activity. Data collected from a single vibration, a beating heart, and the amount of movement of the crowd around a social point of interest, are used to navigate the parameters of bespoke software for artistic creation. The result is a collection of three works that explores the universal experience of cardiac activity in response to thought, emotion, and movement. As a strategy of coping with the stress of social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, I observed and measured my own heartbeat and breath rhythm at regular intervals. By observing my body reactions, becoming conscious of the connection between my own pulse and that of the world, I retained a feeling of togetherness during the continuous lockdowns.
Interview Pandelis Diamantides by Yonca Keremoglu on Sedition Art
"...And it's this deeply personal connection that imbues the works of Diamantides with layers of organic humanity – a biological vibration and resonance one might be forgiven to forget when confronted with the high-tech sheen of the visuals or the digital noise granular synthesis of the audio. This triptych reaches out to mythos, not unlike Bill Viola and navigates the parameters of the sacred, profane and personal, interhuman and – perhaps – supernatural. A universal experience this then, of an extrapolated single vibration in all of us: the movement of a multitude of hearts, a social resonance and a crowd of cardiac interactions.
Taken purely at face value of the audio side, only we hear hints of Scanner and Vangelis, of Francois Bayle and other greats of the GRM, Main comes to mind, maybe Peder Mannerfelt, Thomas Brinkmann too. There's a definite MEGO-feel to this work. Again, something unsettling and uncanny which can only be touched upon via the human connection here turned into something entirely engaging and captivating beyond the mere digital or binary, into the all too touching and moving. Like a personal memory refound – like time regained.
Truth be told, we can not wait for these works to be shown on some massive screens at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam: blacked-out walls again, pounding PA again. A hard-hitting direct experience of a spectacular and a the same time N=1-tiny particular exploration of uncharted emotional landscapes. Heartwarmingly superb."
- SSK, Vital Weekly
Παλμός Art Collection - Audiovisual Performance (2022-23)
Παλμός (palmós), 'pulse', a 'heartbeat' is a series of generative audiovisual artworks by Pandelis Diamantides. The artworks contextualise the heart as a metaphor for emotion, and the notion of vibration as a connecting element between physical, biological, and social activity.
Data collected from a single vibration, Παλμός α' / vibration, a beating heart, Παλμός β' / a heartbeat, and the amount of movement of the crowd around a social point of interest, Παλμοί / pulses, are used to navigate the parameters of bespoke software for artistic creation. The result is an audiovisual work that explores the universal experience of cardiac activity in response to thought, emotion, and movement.
For the new collection Παλμός (palmós), that was recently launched on Sedition, you collected and used data from your own heartbeat and breath rhythm. Could you talk a bit about the inspiration behind this work? What ideas did you intend to explore?
Pandelis Diamantides: Παλμός translates to 'pulse', a 'heartbeat'. The art collection contextualises the heart as a metaphor for emotion, and the notion of vibration as a connecting element between physical, biological, and social activity. Data collected from a single vibration, a beating heart, and the amount of movement of the crowd around a social point of interest, are used to navigate the parameters of bespoke software for artistic creation. The result is a collection of three works that explores the universal experience of cardiac activity in response to thought, emotion, and movement. As a strategy of coping with the stress of social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, I observed and measured my own heartbeat and breath rhythm at regular intervals. By observing my body reactions, becoming conscious of the connection between my own pulse and that of the world, I retained a feeling of togetherness during the continuous lockdowns.
Interview Pandelis Diamantides by Yonca Keremoglu on Sedition Art
"...And it's this deeply personal connection that imbues the works of Diamantides with layers of organic humanity – a biological vibration and resonance one might be forgiven to forget when confronted with the high-tech sheen of the visuals or the digital noise granular synthesis of the audio. This triptych reaches out to mythos, not unlike Bill Viola and navigates the parameters of the sacred, profane and personal, interhuman and – perhaps – supernatural. A universal experience this then, of an extrapolated single vibration in all of us: the movement of a multitude of hearts, a social resonance and a crowd of cardiac interactions.
Taken purely at face value of the audio side, only we hear hints of Scanner and Vangelis, of Francois Bayle and other greats of the GRM, Main comes to mind, maybe Peder Mannerfelt, Thomas Brinkmann too. There's a definite MEGO-feel to this work. Again, something unsettling and uncanny which can only be touched upon via the human connection here turned into something entirely engaging and captivating beyond the mere digital or binary, into the all too touching and moving. Like a personal memory refound – like time regained.
Truth be told, we can not wait for these works to be shown on some massive screens at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam: blacked-out walls again, pounding PA again. A hard-hitting direct experience of a spectacular and a the same time N=1-tiny particular exploration of uncharted emotional landscapes. Heartwarmingly superb."
- SSK, Vital Weekly