Serendipity
2023
Artist(s): Lawrence Liang & Brandon Yip
Humans are undeniably social animals. Studies suggest that we are deeply shaped by our social bonds and suffer greatly when they are threatened or severed. Ironically, the new technological frontiers that was meant to make us feel more connected, are making us lonelier. Recent innovations highlight the profound psychosomatic impact of technology on us and how deeply entwined we are with our environments and its technologies.
Many of the devices and applications that govern this new technocratic paradigm have been designed specifically to tap into the stimulus/response mechanisms of the brain’s reward circuitry. Our evolutionary adaptative mechanism manipulated and turned against us. Technology as a pseudo replacement for genuine human connection.
We hear a ‘ping,’; the response then creates a cyclical neuropathway of reward. Like any other form of addiction where our brain produces happy chemicals without the appropriate catalyst, studies show that people are lonelier than ever with Headspace reporting 60% of young Australians reporting being lonely.
The pandemic has only highlighted and exacerbated this issue for many. In this increasingly complex world, our search for meaning and purpose has taken on new urgency. But to truly address this issue of connection, we must draw inspiration from the past to find something that inherently ties us together as humans, something that transcends borders and social constructs.
The answer might be Rhythm and Ritual. Rhythm has the power to bring people together, inspiring them to bop and tap to the same beat. This euphoric feeling is backed by science, which shows a strong correlation between communal alignment to rhythm and the rate of positive emotional affect.
Much of this phenomenon likely stems from our history of communal rituals. Voice, clapping hands and stomping feet has been practiced for up to 310,000 years. Rituals served not only as a means of passing on complex and meaningful knowledge, but also as a source of psychological comfort during times of hardship.
It’s evident that our brains are wired to seek and thrive in social connections, and the shared experiences arising from rituals, music, and synchronicity is more important than ever our increasingly complex world. We aim to use art, interactive immersive design, music and tactile adaptation to find universal synchronicity and a beat that we can all tap our feet and bop our heads to in our machine learning embedded future.