Helen Anahita Wilson: linea naturalis (we are all bioelectrical beings)

Bioelectricity is generated by a variety of biological processes in all living cells.
We are all bioelectrical beings.

Every single sound in linea naturalis is derived from natural bioelectricity and micro-electrical fluctuations in plants with medicinal and healing properties: petals, leaves, trunks, and branches. With 30 parts of the bioelectricity recordings converted into musical data tracks, sound artist Helen Anahita Wilson assigned an instrument to each of these parts. She then applied compositional processes of editing and development to create the unique piece of plant-derived music. Linea naturalis is 45 minutes long.

On the early Sunday afternoon of 25 Feburary 2024, Helen Anahita Wilson’s linea naturalis will animate the space of Small Gallery, where visual artist Lisa Chang Lee’s solo exhibition ‘Wind Dwellers’ is currently on display. This site-specific exhibition includes a set of newly commissioned hand-painted bronze sculptures of birch tree leaves. Most intriguingly, Helen Anahita Wilson’s music resonates with Lisa Chang Lee’s 2023 remix of the audiovisual installation Serenade of the Woods, which is also derived from a set of plants. In Lisa Chang Lee’s working process, the movement of different plants in breeze was captured in her video clips, transformed into music notes by the computer, and eventually played out by musicians – it was a collaboration between nature, machine, and human.

Dessert artist Xinyi Li will bring a gustatory dimension to the acoustic and visual stimuli of the event. Xinyi selected three plants featured in Helen Anahita Wilson’s music – ginger, peppermint, and poppy seeds – to make madeleines and cookies specifically for this occasion. Each dessert she creates is a chapter of its own, blending heritage with a pinch of the unexpected.

Participants are encouraged to walk around the gallery space while listening to music. The event, including the purpose-made snacks, is free to all. R.S.V.P.

Event Schedules

25 February 2024 Sunday (London Time)

1:00 PM Door opens

1:30-1:40 PM Helen Anahita Wilson, Sound Artist Talk

1:40-1:45 PM Xinyi Li, Dessert Artist Introduction

1:45-2:30 PM Music

2:30-3:00 PM Tea time