Final project: Acupuncture Interface, first thoughts

Around the beginning of this year, I went to an acupuncturist. It’s not the kind of thing I usually do – those who know me best will attest to my general skepticism regarding…well, everything really. So entering into ‘alternative’ therapy, handing my body over to a person and a process that I knew so little about, was simultaneously thrilling, mystifying, amusing, and a little scary.

I had a few acupuncture sessions, and I stopped my treatment without really making a decision to – after missing one appointment, my lack of time and money (as I was preparing to move to NYC) suddenly seemed very apparent. I wasn’t quite sure if the acupuncture was helping what I was wanting it to help (while I’m in confessional mode: some stomach problems, a too-often runny nose, general unwellness), but I did feel great afterwards: I was exceptionally relaxed and calm for the rest of the day, at least. And during the procedure my mind felt clear and focused – which finally brings me to the beginnings of this project. What struck me most, while lying on my back staring at the ceiling, was just how abstract, almost metaphorical the whole process was – I hadn’t been given (or really been expecting) a full explanation of what was happening to me and how it was going to work. In fact, I couldn’t even really tilt my head comfortably enough to see the size of the needles I was being poked with. My body image (both internal and external) was pretty much the product of my mind, with the odd physical sensation (pulsing, tingling) acting as a sort of clue. I wanted, someday, to visually articulate what I felt was happening to me, and explore the disconnect (or connect!) between, I suppose, the knowable and the unknowable.

It resurfaced as a concept for both an ICM and physical computing project a couple weeks ago, at the intersection of numerous ideas. In my “Mapping Narratives” class, I’ve been thinking a lot about some kind of data visualization – or map – of bodily image or process. This begun as an ICM midterm looking at ‘phrenology’ – the pseudo-science that posits the brain as a collection of localized regions – but now I see the opportunity to collect all these threads into one project, involving acupuncture.

Cautious beginnings…

I am tinkering. Lights are flashing. Rectangles are being formed. I need more sleep than I’m getting.

Stuff to follow.