I pulsate therefore I am / spanda ergo sum
Spanda Ergo Sum can be translated as “I pulsate, therefore I am”. In the tantric philosophy of Kashmir Śaivism, spanda means a throb or pulsation: the creative movement of consciousness through which the cosmos emerges and subsides. This pulsation encompasses the intertwined movements of emergence and withdrawal.
Spanda Ergo Sum plays on René Descartes’ “Cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”), proposing that the ability to sense quantum pulsation, rather than rational thought, as the ground of being. The images document five years of research into non-rational, intuitive and embodied ways of knowing. The locations are abandoned and derelict spaces, devoid of human presence, which become spaces for deep listening to imperceptible vibrations of matter and space.
The discoveries emerge through the juxtaposition and interplay of the images and sound. The soundtrack weaves a polyphony of voices from recordings of the materials and spaces depicted. These nonhuman voices hover over a binaural drone composed from the noise of air-conditioning and heating vents.
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Installation: BuOY Art Space, Tokyo
I Pulsate, Therefore I Am / Spanda Ergo Sum was installed in the derelict former bathhouse in the basement of BUoY Art Space, Tokyo, as part of Wireless Festival in 2023. The installation explored the spectral energies latent within abandoned spaces, translating invisible electrical activity into an unstable sonic environment. At times, the sound and lighting appeared to escape control, falling abruptly into silence or erupting into unexpected, frenetic vocalisations.
This live, shifting soundscape unfolded alongside the binaural soundtrack of the moving-image work, creating an interplay between the resonant space, its hidden energies and the pulsations of image and sound.
Installation Design
The installation is conceived for presentation on a raised floor, with transducers beneath the surface transmitting sound vibrations directly into the body. Specially designed inflatable latex seating extends this tactile experience, allowing visitors to encounter the sound not only through hearing, but through the body's felt resonance. The installation becomes an immersive, embodied listening environment in which sound is experienced as vibration, touch and pulsation.