Keywords: Immersive art/ multisensory experience/ positive mode change & relaxation.
Background:
[Outline: Mood in the digital age – challenges, the influence of digital environment; how can we improve mood; exploring immersive art as a potential intervention modality; therefore, this study will explore whether an immersive art piece providing a multisensory experience can enhance mood.]
Digital world → affects our mood.
The modern media environment exposes us to so many stimuli that it’s hard for us to connect with a plot easily. This is supported by research on dopamine. Dr Anna Lemki of Stanford University suggests a dopamine fast, arguing that any behavioural addiction we have has consequences for our brains and that the plasticity of the brain allows us to recover to some extent.
The potential of immersive art.
Over the last decade, immersive art has been developing and evolving, with many emerging exhibition spaces and experiences. However, at present, the applications of immersive art have been limited, for example to providing beautiful backdrops for selfies, being viewed much like traditional art, or being accessible only to those who can afford to pay.
However, recent literature points to the potential of immersive art as an intervention to influence emotions and well-being outcomes. Therefore, it may be possible to apply the digital environment of immersive art to enhance mood and provide a relaxing experience, rather than the overstimulating experience of most digital media.
The current research will therefore employ an immersive art exhibition as an intervention to enhance mood. Specifically, through this exhibition, I would like to explore the theme of communication through immersive art and explore the elements that allow us to communicate with ourselves, with the artwork, and with society.
Aim: Exploring the possibility of improving mood through an immersive art experience.
Final product?: Immersive art piece using multi-sensory experiences.
Method: Testing with the target audience; participants will complete a questionnaire before and after entering the installation space; the experience will last 10-15 minutes; prior to viewing the art, participants will be asked to undergo dopamine detox.
In the first intervention, the audience will be presented with individual experiences and installations to centrally understand how our sensory experiences bring about emotional changes.
After getting participants’ feedback from the first intervention, the second phase of the exhibition will include experiential 3D mapping of everyday spaces and an attempt to seed fond memories of systems that trigger emotions in us through participation in new experiences.
Questionnaire/interview/focus groups: Mood, emotions, how they feel before and after the experiences (phase 1 and phase 2), feedback on art pieces (phase 1).
State measures – immediate responses to an intervention.
Trait measures – dispositional/general measures of how a person usually is/long-term/over time.
Measures of emotion: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2756702/
Other ideas:
Creativity is crucial in finding solutions to many daily problems. Creativity stems from a positive mood and a balanced state of mind.
However, for the majority of people, it seems difficult to break out of the mechanistic mindset of Descartes’ “I think; therefore, I am” that remains in our consciousness. In other words, critical thinking, rather than feeling, is prioritised in the existing literature.
In contrast, neuroscientist Damasio argues that body-based emotions are the essence of consciousness. Therefore, I am me because I feel. Emotions play a role beyond what has been identified, and the power of art, which has not been easy to prove scientifically, is also attributed to the visual stimuli that create emotions.
The behaviours that transform us come from our emotions, not from our disciplined and controlled thoughts. If you think that discipline and control work, it’s probably because you’re using the emotion of fear in a confused way.
Our senses feel the way our brain interprets reasoning. The same phenomenon is remembered by each individual with their own internal narrative system, and all memories are stored using language. This is why we can look at the same artwork, yet have different interpretations and feel different emotions.