Opus Pericardium

Opus Pericardium is Sarah Harvey's first major project and exhibition working in collaboration with composer and programmer Tim Yates and musician Simon C Russell; and scientists Professor Macfarlane at the University of Glasgow Dept. of Medical Cardiology, and Richard Whale, Senior Lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

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Using anonymised digital data of electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, which have been generously supplied from Glasgow University's Academic database and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Opus Pericardium transposes this ECG data through digital software to create audio soundscapes of the human heart.

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The creative team have explored the ECG data and have sonified it in a way that makes apparent the subtle and constant nuances of change in a heartbeat. The quiet sound and constantly varying texture, tease, intrigue and beckon the listener into engaging in a new way with one of richest symbols of human life.

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Opus Pericardium was a research and development project funded by Arts Council England and was generously supported and first shown at SoundFjord in July and August 2012. The project was a success for the gallery, artists and partners and is a culmination of work that Sarah Harvey has been undertaking for the past three years, building upon her previous work Chambers.

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On 12 September 2012 Sarah, Tim and Richard held a reflective talk at the Nightingale Theatre, Brighton as part of the Brighton Digital Festival. Read more about this.