Return of Spontaneous Circulation

Year

2021

Tools

Tone.js, p5.js

Role

Individual Project

An electrocardiogram graphs electrical activity in the heart against time. A long sequence of spikes on an electrocardiogram strip is the canonical representation of the activity within the heart of a living person.

I am alive, and there is activity happening inside of my heart. An electrocardiogram would tell me that the activity within my heart looks like a consistent pulse of electrical activity about once every second. Though I'd like to imagine that the activity within my heart has a different shape – more disorganized, chaotic, complex, and curved at times.

I made this tool called "Return of Spontaneous Circulation" to help myself find the shape that describes the activity within my heart, and what frequencies and waveforms compose it. This iteration visualizes a parametric graphing of two oscillators (either sine, sawtooth, square, or triangle) producing sound at different frequencies. Some of the outputs remind me of sigils (like Vodun veves).

I'm still looking for the right parameters.