Breathing III

Sophie Rose

Breathing III
Image credit: Sophie Rose

Abstract:

“Time is the objectification of a biological organism’s act of breathing, which is sensitive and conscious” [1, p. 25] Breath is more than survival—it is memory, movement, and connection. Breathing III is the final piece in a three-part series that externalizes emotional responses to trauma, exploring the body’s search for reconnection and resolution. Through midline-crossing and sequenced movement patterns, the performer traces a path from psychological fragmentation to unity. MiMU datagloves capture gestural movement in real time, transforming hand and arm motions into a layered soundscape of live vocal sampling. Open-hand gestures extend outward and draw inward, mapping to sustained melodic lines, while bird-like formations—fingers flexing and unfolding—trigger harmonic layers and spatialized echoes. Prayer-hand movements send reverberant waves through the sound field, reinforcing themes of unity and self-reintegration. Real-time particle cloud projections, generated from movement data, swirl and converge around the performer, evoking shamanic ritual and animist traditions. As breath, movement, and sound merge, Breathing III invites the audience into a space of transformation—where embodied memory dissolves, and a new sense of self begins to take shape.