BIOSYMPHONY
The body composes.
signal_chain: body → environment
A bio-kinetic performance system translating heart rate variability, breath, and movement into real-time generative sound and image.
Project Overview 01
The body becomes the instrument.
BioSymphony is an interdisciplinary research and performance project investigating how internal physiological states can function as compositional material.
The current phase, BioSymphony: The Heart, translates heart rate variability, respiration, and embodied movement into real-time generative sound and visual environments.
By rendering normally invisible biological processes perceptible, the project creates a feedback loop between physiology, technology, environment, and human perception.
Body
Signal
Translation
Environment
Perception
Current Prototype 02
Already functioning. Now ready to expand.
BioSymphony has moved beyond the conceptual stage and currently exists as an active prototype.
The current system receives live physiological data, processes it through a custom signal architecture, and maps changes in autonomic state to generative visual behavior inside TouchDesigner.
- Real-time HRV sensing
- OSC data communication
- TouchDesigner visual engine
- Custom state mapping
- Projection-ready output
- Performance integration in development
Signal Architecture 03
From invisible state to perceptible environment.
Input
- Heart rate variability
- Respiratory rhythm
- Embodied movement
- Percussive gesture
Translation
- Signal acquisition
- Data normalization
- State calculation
- Parameter mapping
- Real-time modulation
Output
- Generative visuals
- Projection environments
- Sound modulation
- Spatial composition
- Interactive performance
The system does not illustrate the body. It allows physiological dynamics to influence the behavior of the environment itself.
Research Question 04
Can internal physiological states become an instrument?
How does perceiving biological activity as image and sound alter embodiment, emotional awareness, and self-regulation?
What new forms of performance emerge when the performer's autonomic state becomes part of the composition?
How might multiple bodies generate a shared audiovisual environment?
Artistic Motivation 05
Rhythm begins before music.
As a percussionist, Mila Tina has long investigated rhythm as both a biological and cultural phenomenon.
The first rhythm every human being encounters is the heartbeat.
BioSymphony extends this principle by treating physiological rhythm not as passive data, but as an active creative agent capable of shaping sound, image, performance, and collective experience.
The work approaches rhythm as physiology, communication, regulation, movement, and perception.
Development Status 06
From prototype to performance.
Completed
- HRV sensor integration
- Real-time data streaming
- OSC communication pipeline
- TouchDesigner visual engine
- State-mapping architecture
- Initial generative visual tests
In Development
- Expanded visual behaviors
- Stronger HRV-to-visual mappings
- Breath integration
- Percussion and movement integration
- Live performance format
- Audience interaction protocols
- Spatial sound exploration
Future Phases
- Multi-person biofeedback
- Collective physiological environments
- EEG integration
- Neural signal translation
- Research collaborations
- Advanced data sonification
Residency Development 07
The system exists. The next phase requires time, space, and exchange.
BioSymphony is entering a critical stage of development.
The project now requires dedicated studio time, technical experimentation, interdisciplinary dialogue, and opportunities for participant testing in order to expand the existing prototype into a fully realized immersive performance system.
A residency would provide the conditions to refine the relationship between physiological data and visual behavior, develop a coherent performance language, test audience interaction, document the work, and engage with artists, technologists, researchers, and local communities.
The residency is not being sought to begin the project. It is being sought to transform a functioning prototype into a public artistic experience.
Proposed Activities 08
An adaptable development plan.
Technical Development
- Refine HRV acquisition and state mapping
- Develop generative visual behaviors
- Strengthen system stability
- Integrate projection and performance environments
Artistic Research
- Test relationships between rhythm, physiology, and image
- Develop an embodied performance score
- Explore breath, gesture, percussion, and autonomic response
- Determine when data should control, influence, or destabilize the system
Public Engagement
- Open studio
- Work-in-progress presentation
- Artist talk or lecture demonstration
- Participant-based biofeedback experiments
- Collaborative workshop where appropriate
Documentation
- Prototype video
- Installation and performance photography
- Technical diagrams
- Research notes
- Material for future exhibitions and partnerships
Residency Outcomes 09
A modular work designed to evolve across contexts.
The final form can be adapted to the residency's technical resources, duration, research focus, and public program.
Evolution Path 10
Phase I Active
BioSymphony: The Heart
HRV, breath, movement, percussion, and real-time generative environments.
Phase II Planned
Collective Resonance
Multi-person physiological interaction and shared audiovisual environments.
Phase III Future Research
BioSymphony: The Mind
EEG integration and the translation of neural activity into generative systems.
Technical Environment 11
01
TouchDesigner
02
Python
03
OSC
04
HRV sensor
HeartMath Inner Balance
05
Ableton Live
06
Signal processing
07
Generative graphics
08
Projection systems
Additional equipment and software may be integrated according to the residency environment and project requirements.
Artist 12
Mila Tina
Mila Tina is a Chilean-American interdisciplinary artist, percussionist, and researcher working across rhythm, embodiment, performance, and emerging technologies.
Her practice investigates the body as a source of signal and explores how physiological processes, movement, sound, and interactive systems can generate new forms of perception and collective experience.
Drawing from percussion, martial arts, creative technology, and embodied research, she develops performance systems that connect biological rhythm with computational environments.
Protocol Entry Point
Develop BioSymphony within your residency, institution, or research environment.
BioSymphony is currently seeking artist residencies, research partnerships, technical collaborators, experimental performance opportunities, and institutional dialogue.
The body generates signal. The system translates it. Perception encounters it.