Divided by Resistance, Totally Wired, ICA, London 
Photo by Bonnie Venture

Divided by Resistance

Divided by Resistance is a durational performance installation by Bruce Gilchrist & Jonny Bradley, ICA, London, presented as part of Totally Wired curated by Lois Keidan. Supported by an ICA/Toshiba Art & Innovation Commission 1995 (1st prize) with additional support for the ‘seat of consciousness’ by Juggernaut.

Divided By Resistance utilised a relational database of electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings, QuickTime movies and text narratives based on recollections from REM sleep collected by by the artist sleeping in his studio from 1995-1996. Members of the audience were invited to interact with the sleeping performer via a specially constructed communiction conduit. “[...] It is the concern to create this distance, or rather this nearness, by drawing a spectator into a particular experience, which forms the focus for much of Bruce Gilchrist’s recent work. Although developed from a research context that is generated by sophisticated scientific concepts, Gilchrist’s performances also function on another, less immediately apparent level which is dependent upon establishing a sensitive physical dialogue between artist and individual audience member.” 

From <Low Tide: Writings on Artists’ Collaborations> by Jeni Walwin. Published by Black Dog Publishing , 1997.