Pulse
Rob Godman in collaboration with Dr. Giampaolo Martinelli - 2021 - Current
Stereo Audio Recording, via headphones
Duration – 11 hours and 12 minutes
Pulse is a high resolution unedited real-time audio recording of a thoraco abdominal aneurysm repair performed at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, May 2022. Created in collaboration with Dr. Giampaolo Martinelli, Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist, the work focuses our attention on the ambient sound - room tone and associated noise, surgical paraphernalia and human interaction found within an operating theatre. By exploring repetition and variation, rhythm and further subdivisions of time over the micro and macro structure, it aims to demystify this largely hidden environment as it unfolds during the day.
The work runs from 07.45 hours (the time the operation began) and concludes just over eleven hours later, as it did at the time of the procedure.
The project is still underway with an expected conclusion of September 2024. Dissemination of the work has already been considerable and we are currently designing and establishing proof of concept for a portable physical installation (a ‘pop up’ version of the original Pulse installation) that can be toured in a variety of environments.
The artistic output ‘Pulse’ has been shown at UH’s Arts:Sci exhibition (June 2022), the Research Colloquium, Applied Sciences and Arts, University of Lucerne (April 2023) and the Art & Science workshop at French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA, Grenoble) (November 23). Additionally, a new immersive ambisonic version was presented at The Festival of Ideas, UH May 2024 featuring a new recording using a Soundfield microphone for B-format 7.1 surround audio.
The work continues to form part of Dr. Martinelli’s outreach activities at Bart’s including his seminar ‘Art as a Tool for Teaching and Therapy’ Aula CIS 1, Ospedale Nuovo Santa Chiara, Pisa (May 23).
Like my other IAA award ‘The Real Tourette’s, we are seeking to reframe the public sphere perception of medical and biodiverse environments, counteracting the commercial media hyperreal narrative. A significant, and somewhat unexpected development, has been the effect of noise on theatre staff and how this affects our well-being.
