Kasia Molga – Human Sensor
July 2016
Manchester, UK
Created by Design Futurist Kasia Molga, ‘Human Sensor’, is a performance of wearable costumes that respond to air pollution levels. Wired up to a series of breathing and air pollution data sensors, the dancer’s costumes illuminate in a response to pollution levels – pulsing with their breath and movements. As they travel along a space – the fluctuation in pollution influences the colours and configurations of light on the wearable, which fades in and out with dancer’s inhalations and exhalations. Molga, worked closely with media and interactive artist Ricardo O’Nascimento and media artist and creative technologist Erik Overmeire to develop the costumes.
The costumes were revealed on the busy streets of Manchester in a premiere performance for the Manchester City of Science in July 2016.
“It was very moving, I felt very connected to the message.”
As well as regular performances throughout the festival, Invisible Dust ran a full programme of talks and workshops. Events included a live participatory pollution reading workshop with Andrew Grieve from King’s College London and a talk on air pollution and climate change.
The project received press, TV and radio coverage including The Guardian, BBC Northwest, The Washington Post, Nature.com and London Evening Standard.
‘Human Sensor’ was commissioned and produced by Invisible Dust in partnership with Manchester, European City of Science. It is supported by The Wellcome Trust’s Sustaining Excellence Award and Arts Council England.
Also supported by Manchester Science Partnerships, Ocean Outdoor and Wayin.
‘A Portrait of Your Breath’, a live collaborative performance by Kasia Molga and the sound artist Scanner at Halle St Peters concluded the ‘Human Sensor’ events at the festival.
Image: © ‘Human Sensor’ by Kasia Molga courtesy of Invisible Dust, Photo at Manchester Piccadilly, photo by Nick Harrison, 2016.