[ISEA2006] Artists Statement: David Tinapple & Takehito Etani – Pimp my Heart

Artists Statement

Cranked-up bass sounds leaking from cruising pimped cars are a familiar annoyance of the city streets in the world. What if the bass sounds are the drivers’ real-time heartbeat instead of beats of music? Does our relationship with the vehicle/driver and the pedestrians change? The HBBB system amplifies the heartbeat of the driver in real-time by interfacing the car audio with a heartbeat sensor. By hacking on the technology/hobby that is often used as psychological armor, territory-marking tool, the project turn the body/vehicle relationship inside-out, addressing the vulnerability of human body and emotion and aims to understand our obsession on automobiles and it’s modification rather than dismissing the culture as something aggressive. A group of local car enthusiasts will be involved in developing the design of the demo vehicle, as well as driving around the visitors to night cruises on their own vehicles with HBBB.   takehitoetani.com/pimp-my-heart