Mind Control (Space)

Today,meditation and other so-called mindfulness practices are no longer just spiritual.They are actively used as therapy for post-traumatic syndrome, as well as to improve human performance and efficiency. These practices involve dissolution in the environment and its full acceptance,but a change of context raises the question of the limits of the aptness of using such a strategy. The artist meditates in Novotroitsk,an industrial monotown born from the Soviet planned economy, ore deposits and a huge metallurgical complex. Luc Mattenberger explores how the environment and context affect human consciousness, particularly in this context that have a strong history of mind control technics. Applying the practice of conscious meditation, the artist recorded the state of his brain with the help of EEG and MRI in order to turn his signals into diagrams, trying to materialize the thought. Based on the obtained data : electric impulsions of the artist’s brain were ampli ed and converted into other electric impulsions in order to control a lathe. A series of sculptural objects were created, carved from a steel wheel blank at the Ural Steel plant, the city-forming enterprise of Novotroitsk.
5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2019