Projects
Synapse
Synapse
A high voltage, immersive sculptural installation and sonic environment exploring EEG and biofeedback. Spark gap networks triggered by an audience member's brain activity create rhythmic cascades of sound and light, set alongside an ambisonic sound composition. The project involves collaborators from art, science and medicine.
Experiment
£20,000
Aims f the project
Synapse is an exploration of physics, psychology and cybernetics through high voltage discharges created by an array of spark gaps. The audience are surrounded by a multisensory audiovisual installation created from steel Faraday cages housing electrical apparatus in a darkened theatre or gallery. Bursts of light and sound ripple through the space as arcs of plasma are emitted from electrodes, a percussive snapping and whine of transformers accompanies the scent of ozone.
The installation is controlled via an EEG headset worn by an audience member, which reads Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta wave activity. Headset APIs are used to output the signals in order to trigger activity within the spark matrix as a 3-dimensional visualisation of brain function – an abstact physical representation of the network of neurons that exist in their brain.
Biofeedback loops, and the relationship of human and environment in both corporeal and psychological modalities, are explored as a function of the technological dialectic, reflecting on the role of electricity as a therapeutic tool and emergent phenomena within biology, networks and artificial intelligence. Additional stimuli will be introduced through the use of pulsed tone compositions, reactive lighting design and haptic feedback devices such as TENS machines.
Meet the artist
Robbie Thomson
Lead Artist
he/him
Robbie Thomson is a Scottish multimedia artist working between visual art, music and theatre, he is based on the Isle of Lewis. Robbie’s interests include the interplay of technology and consciousness, psychology, cybernetics, industrial landscapes and megalithic sites. He often experiments with technology in his projects: past works include music made with a high voltage Tesla coil and an immersive large scale robotic installation in Glasgow’s Clyde Tunnel.
Alongside his artistic practice, Robbie works as a designer and educator. Commissions include lighting, set design, video and music work for theatre and film productions in Scotland and internationally.In 2011 Robbie was a founding director of independent arts venue the Glue Factory in Glasgow and in 2013 he became an associate artist with Cryptic.
Robbie has worked as a collaborator with theatre companies such as Untitled Projects, NVA, Common Wealth Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland.From 2010 to 2015 he was a member of 85A, a Glasgow based DIY collective that produced large scale installations and performances. Robbie has toured widely, presenting work at festivals and galleries throughout
the UK, Europe, Indonesia, Mexico, Korea, and Australia. In 2025 he founded HAAR Projects, a company that delivers ambitious and impactful projects in the Western Isles.
