SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE – EMPATHIC CIRCUIT. By Giuliano Lombardo

Description

"For 10 or more stethoscopes and as many participants, and a director of the performance.
The first two participants must first of all use the stethoscope to monitor their own heartbeat. Once the stethoscope has been well placed by the participants, they will exchange their earpieces in order to hear each-others heartbeat. The next participant will then start to locate his or her heartbeat with another stethoscope (to facilitate this process some running in place may be required). Signaled by the director of the performance, the new participant will exchange earpieces with one the participants being included in the circuit. The action will be repeated for all the participants until the stethoscopes are finished.
The extended perception given by the stethoscopes should work as an amplification for the natural disposition to empathy and possibly promote the emersion of a collective consciousness. A collective entity is created, but this is accomplished by excluding the non-participants. This action is intended to be a stimulus for further thinking around the concepts of inclusion/exclusion and the extension of empathy."