Kinaesonics: The intertwining relationship of body and sound

Abstract

The focus of this article is on the sensation of the body beneath the mediated and the unique nature and particular forms of sensation and perceptions prompted by interactive technology with particular reference to kinaesonic gestures. These topics will be discussed from the point of view of practice with specific reference to the artists' work with the Bodycoder system and their 2005 work The Suicided Voice. The article will discuss how on-the-body technology alters a performer's perception and sensation prompting new forms of cross-modal (synesthetic) perception. The nature of the ‘intertwining’ relationship between the sensual and the sonic, inherent in kinaesonic operations, will be outlined. The article will discuss how the intimacy of on-the-body technology problematizes expression, particularly real-time manipulation. The authors will move on to discuss how the natural movement vocabulary of the body becomes the expressive medium for the generation and manipulation of sound. How flexible protocols and a fluid interface that can be re-configured for each new piece of work allow the artists to put the body at the expressive and contextual centre of the work.