Nervous Extensions for Planetary Balance in Nina Sobell’s Collaborative Séances

Abstract Artist Nina Sobell uses electronic media to unveil the invisible ties between ourselves and others. Addressing the transformative potential of nonverbal communication, the author analyzes Meditations, Memory, Dream, Fantasy and Solar Wind Weaving Sun and Moon, Sharing a Shadow, two collaborative projects created by Sobell in 1999 to inspire collective acts of imagination. Merging images of brainwave oscillations with video feedback and automatic drawing, these participatory artworks elicit a heightened sense of embodied presence and emphasize the interdependence between planetary and human rhythms.