Neurofeedback loops : electroencephalography as an artistic strategy in selected art & science projects

The aim of this article is to present art & science projects involving electroencephalography (EEG), and study them in terms of relationships between artistic narratives and medical procedures. Discussed are the works by pioneers of EEG applications in art (David Rosenboom, Alvin Lucier) and by contemporary artists (Lisa Park, Amy Karle), who are mainly interested in performances and relational installations. The author of the text analyses the projects with reference to the concept she introduces - biomediation (derived from Eugene Thacker's theory of biomedia and a concept of mediation developed by Joanna Zylinska and Sarah Kember), pointing to the post- and transhumanist strategies used by the artists. She ponders on the extent to which the parameterisation and processing of bioelectric work of human brain may serve as a tool to expand the capacity of the human body-mind and thus create connections with 'non-human' constructs.