(PDF) The "Waking Incubator": Exploring the Interface Between the Performing Arts and the Science of Sleep

T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L JOURNAL of SCIENCE IN SOCIETY Volume 2, Number 3 The “Waking Incubator”: Exploring the Interface Between the Performing Arts and the Science of Sleep Jean S. Fleming, Rosemary Gibson, Brent Harris, Sally Morgan, Anne Noble, Karyn O’Keeffe, Anna Wirz-Justice, Sam Trubridge and Philippa Gander www.Science-Society.com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he “Waking Incubator”: Exploring the Interface Between the Performing Arts and the Science of Sleep Jean S. Fleming, The University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Rosemary Gibson, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Brent Harris, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand Sally Morgan, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Anne Noble, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Karyn O’Keeffe, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Anna Wirz-Justice, University of Basel, Switzerland Sam Trubridge, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Philippa Gander, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Abstract: In early 2010 a diverse group of scientists and performance artists came together in Welling- ton, New Zealand, for a week of dialogue and collaboration on the topic of “Waking”. Following on from the successful production in 2008 of “Sleep/Wake”, by performance designer Sam Trubridge and chronobiologist Professor Philippa Gander, the Waking Incubator was designed to investigate the transition from sleeping to waking, from the multiple perspectives of dance, music, photography, film, sleep science, chronobiology and science communication. A diverse range of installations, per- formances and presentations were displayed in an Open Laboratory at the end of the week. The aim of the Open Laboratory was to engage the public in dialogue and to develop new ways of communic- ating sleep science. Although “The Two Cultures” still remain largely parallel today, the Waking In- cubator began to blur the edges of what constitutes art and science. The artists transformed the science of sleep through their exploration of affective resonances of scientific processes and technologies, and the scientists became actors in their role of objective communicators. We conclude that such interactions increase the chance of meaningful conversations, stimulate respect for and interest in other disciplines and promote both creative art and science communication. Keywords: Sleep, Waking, Chronobiology, Science-art Interaction, Performance Science, Science Communication, Practice Focus, Science Pedagogy “When we sleep, we don’t perform. But the moment we wake up, we enter the world again. We start to put on our costumes, our make-up, constructing our persona until we’re ready to face the world again, and ready to take the stage.” Sam Trubridge W HEN WE WAKE in the morning, most of us are unaware of the astonishing changes in our brain that allow us to rise and face another day. The world of the neuroscientist is often regarded as incomprehensible, if not irrelevant. And yet the world of sleep and dreaming has been inspirational for many, both in art and The International Journal of Science in Society Volume 2, Number 3, 2011, http://science-society.com/journal/, ISSN 1836-6236 © Common Ground, Jean S. Fleming, Rosemary Gibson, Brent Harris, Sally Morgan, Anne Noble, Karyn O’Keeffe, Anna Wirz-Justice, Sam Trubridge, Philippa Gander, All Rights Reserved, Permissions:

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY in science. The invitation to discuss the interface between science and art in terms of sleep and wakefulness proved irresistible to a group of twelve artists and scientists, and so the Waking Incubator project was born. Waking is the transition between our dreaming, subconscious interiors and active, conscious exteriors. As we wake we begin to operate in an inter-personal environment, assuming roles and playing parts to suit each new social and cultural context. The self-consciousness of wakefulness is doubled in performance arts, for which we may refract or exaggerate our normal behaviours to fit a specific role. Sleep, at first glance, could be seen as the opposite of this behaviour: a state without performance. However, it is possible to perform well as a sleeper and wake feeling refreshed, or to sleep poorly. The scientific study of sleep is a field that attempts to look into our nocturnal lives, to discover the internal processes of the sleeping body, and better understand the significance that sleep has in our lives. Waking was a project that brought these two approaches together, combining the disciplines of performance with the scientific study of sleep. Working across the breadth of knowledge available in these two fields, the project aimed to explore innovative new ways of understanding the transitions between sleeping and waking, and to create an exterior/interior dialogue offering new perspectives on the science/arts continuum. The Waking Incubator was held early in 2010, at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre of Massey University Wellington, New Zealand. The facilities available to the participants in- cluded a full sleep laboratory, access to lighting, sound and computer technical expertise, and a large empty warehouse (The Print Shop), where performances and collaborations could be developed. The Director of the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Philippa Gander and Per- formance Director Sam Trubridge established the initiative. They had previously worked together on a number of science-art projects, including the 2008 performance “Sleep/Wake ” (Trubridge & Gander, 2008), which explored ways in which sleep science could be com- municated to the general public using dance and drama. Participants in the Waking Incubator are given in Table 1, along with their affiliations. The Waking project had three main goals: • To explore new ways of understanding the transitions between sleeping and waking, by stimulating trans-disciplinary dialogue between performance artists and sleep scientists. • To evaluate and describe different models of arts/science collaboration. • To develop new works and engage the public in this dialogue, since sleeping and waking hold inherent fascination for most people, as the most insistent rhythm of our daily lives. Collaborations and Connections The collaborators in the Waking Incubator came together for the first time to spend the night on Te Kuratini Marae.1 In this setting, with our beds laid out, we introduced ourselves and sang songs of welcome. We were awakened next morning by a karakia (prayer), summoning us from the world of sleep to the task ahead. For the first day and a half of the incubator, each participant gave an introduction to their work and their inspirations for the Waking project. Gradually some clear associations formed and the action moved from the communal workroom onto the floor of the Print Shop warehouse. Exercises, such as walking, then running, blindfolded, under the guidance of a sighted partner, began to bond participants 1 A meeting place for indigenous Maori of New Zealand. 292 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER together. Scientists and performance artists explored different genres for their interaction, working with a team of technical assistants with a wide array of available skills and equip- ment, including design, sound, lighting and electronics. To a large extent the process of the incubator was free flowing and iterative. Projects started, but led nowhere or developed down a different path to that originally planned. The process might be compared to creative play and depended on the personal friendships that developed, as much as the professional interactions. Regular “lectures” on aspects of sleep science brought new ideas for all to explore, such as the importance of light (especially in the blue wavelength) in the maintenance of daily rhythms. These regular injections of sleep science evoked new creative ideas in the artists and encouraged them to try their own “ex- periments.” Towards the end of the week, some of the artists chose to spend a night in the sleep laboratory, monitored by sleep laboratory experts and filmed, when awoken from dif- ferent stages of sleep to perform particular tasks. A sleep scientist recorded her subjective impressions of being studied asleep rather than the usual impartial view of recording someone else’s sleep. Any attempts to structure or organise the creative outputs occurred only at the end of the week, when decisions on the format for the Open Laboratory needed to be made. The following section summarises the main outputs from the week. Disassembled: A Sleep Laboratory Experiment Sally Morgan decided to create an installation depicting her response to waking up in a sleep laboratory situation. I get myself a notebook full of squared paper. I get myself a Rapidograph pen; a tech- nical drawing pen that is used by scientists and technologists as well as by designers and artists. I deliberately use tools that span both worlds. It helps me to locate what I’m trying to do. I have been drawn to working with Karyn. I have been fascinated by the protocols used in the Sleep Wake Centre. I begin to wonder whether we can use exactly the same pro- tocol to produce art and science – do the same things to different ends. Sally Morgan, Waking Incubator Notes, February 2010 Sally collaborated with Karyn to create an installation depicting her experience of being woken from slow wave (deep) sleep and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep in the sleep laboratory, to perform a specific task. The collaboration used polysomnography to monitor Sally’s brain electrical activity, chin and eye muscle movement, showing Karyn when Sally had entered various sleep stages (Rechtschaffen & Kales, 1968). When Sally was woken from deep sleep, she was shown a sign from the wall of the Print Shop warehouse, which read “Think Quality: Good enough is not good enough” and asked to read this message out loud. The subsequent video showed Sally’s consternation and confusion as she read the sign, reflecting her brain’s reluctance to make a sudden transition from deep sleep. 293 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY Cross-purpose Sleep-wake Experiment Brent Harris is a performance artist, whose hesitating and repetitive performances interrupt narrative and often produce confusion and frustration in his audiences (Harris, 2007). Sally’s idea of performing immediately after being woken appealed to me, as it seemed to offer a situation that would alter my normal process. Perhaps it might alter the rela- tion between a plan worked out in advance and the thing framed as “the performance.” Brent Harris, Reflections on the Waking Incubator 2010 Brent conducted a similar overnight experiment with Karyn O’Keeffe in the Sleep/Wake Research Centre. Again, the protocol was for the scientist to wake the artist twice from slow wave sleep and twice from REM sleep. Brent’s task on being woken was to focus for 90 seconds on the crossing point of a large, printed X, while responding to a previously agreed verbal instruction from Karyn. Karyn described a visual vigilance task in which the participant is asked to focus for 90 seconds on a cross, drawn on a surface in front of them. Thinking of a crux of science- arts crossover, I regret that I withdrew somewhat from collegial interaction to work out a plan. But what might I say or do in the altered performance states immediately after being woken from slow wave and REM sleep? Maybe I would cringingly reveal a reliance on theory. Perhaps I would run off at the mouth, talking like a fia poto, about science and art crossover. Maybe I’d have difficulty saying anything. Brent Harris, Reflections on the Waking Incubator 2010 Communication of the Science of Sleep As a science communicator, Jean Fleming’s response to the developing collaborations was to record her subjective responses to participants’ work. The following excerpt from her journal records one personal reaction to the coming together of the two worlds, from the perspective of neither a creative artist, nor a sleep scientist. This morning we are back to introducing ourselves. Karyn tells us something astonishing, and yet it makes so much sense. “All through the night we wake ten to fifteen times an hour, but are not aware of it.” Why am I more curious about Karyn’s research, than Brent’s work, or Sally’s work? Does Karyn’s science make me feel more secure in my world? Jean Fleming, Waking Incubator Journal 2010 The decision to depict the science of sleep, through a series of hanging banners, came late in the process of the Waking Incubator. The idea was to give a voice to the science in a way that might inform the public and add to the experience of the performance art. Designer Rowan Pierce used vertical lettering to increase the scale and weight of the project. Five 4 metre-high banners gave another dimension to the data. Four themes were chosen for the banners: Measuring sleep, Rhythms, Sleep Stages and Sleep Deprivation. One further banner used the following quote: 294 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER If we didn’t sleep, there would be no tomorrow. Life would be a single, seamless today. Menachem M Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe The banners were hung in one corner of the Print Shop warehouse (Figure 1). The words and pictures faced inwards and were lit from beneath, forming an enclosed space dedicated to the science of sleep. The addition of a table covered in reference books became a focus, asking people to read and explore. During the Open Laboratory people drifted in and out of the banners and asked many questions, seeking more information, rather than a performance. In this way the banners complemented the other installations and performances, rather than contrasting or competing with them. The possibilities of science communication in association with performance became clear, confirming that dialogues and conversations about science were important and relevant (Fleming, 2009; Niemetz, 2004). These large banners were later redesigned as bookmarks (for insomniacs?), for easier transport to overseas conferences. Development of the Binaural Beat and Standing Waves Dances A strong collaboration developed between Anne Niemetz (Niemetz, 2004), Carol Brown (http://www.carolbrowndances.com/index.php) and Philippa Gander (Gander, Nguyen, Rosekind, & Connell, 1993; Miller, Gander, Merry, & Webster, 2001; Paine & Gander, 2007; Paine, Gander, & Travier, 2006), in which the interaction of light with human physiology was depicted in dance. An electronic “sensor suit” was developed which allowed the dancer to interact with light to produce sound. The dancer could choose to expose or hide light-sensitive parts of the garment, combining these actions with movements of varied speed and thus intuitively controlling the sound. In turn, the sonic feedback influenced the resulting choreography, creating a feedback loop between movement and sonic state, effect- ively making visible the dynamic processes of physiological phenomena. The dance was originally entitled Binaural Beat, based on the phenomenon that occurs when each ear is separately played a pure tone, with frequency no farther apart than approx. 30 Hertz, through headphones. A beat frequency emerges, perceived as a periodic pulsing of the sound (Karino, et al., 2006; Pratt, et al., 2010). The corresponding phenomenon, not created by the brain, but by a physical process of moving air in space, is called a standing wave and this became the title of the developed piece, which can be viewed at ht- tp://www.adime.de/standingwaves/index.html. The Rest Shift Rest Light Box A popular output at the Open Laboratory was Carol Brown’s interactive light box, constructed with stage lights, wood and Perspex, with the silhouetted image projected onto the ceiling above the box. Figure 2 shows two images of this work “in use” by members of the public and Waking Incubator participants. 295 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY In the Manner of a Dream/As a Matter of Fact: Photographic Reflections of Sleep Science Anna Wirz-Justice (chronobiologist) and Anne Noble (photographer) established a strong collaboration, using photography to depict the interaction of light with the human brain (Danilenko, Plisov, Hebert, Krauchi, & Wirz-Justice, 2008; Wirz-Justice, 2007; Wirz-Justice, et al., 2005). As well as the photographic exhibit shown in Figure 3, Rosemary Gibson and Anne Noble made a short film showing Rosemary asleep, wired for polysomnography, with accompanying soundtracks of their different voices reflecting on subjective and objective modes of observation. Sound Table Three short recordings were made by Russell Scoones (Sonic artist) and played for visitors to the Open Laboratory. In the first, the sleeping brainwaves from Karyn O’Keeffe were converted into sound waves and played beneath a recording of tenor Keith Lewis, singing one of New Zealand writer Janet Frame’s poems (http://sounz.org.nz/events/show/1625). Before I get into sleep with you I want to have been into wakefulness too. Janet Frame, in Peaks of Cloud: a Song Cycle by Jenny McLeod, NZ Festival of the Arts, March 2010 In the second recording, Wakefulness, Anna Wirz-Justice moved past Carol and Russell’s sleeping children, carrying a blue light, transformed into a sound sensor. In the third recording, Light Moving Sound, Carol Brown (choreographer) and Philippa Gander (chronobiologist) were in conversation, while in the background Carol’s dance movements influenced a bin- aural beat, induced by movements through Anne Neimetz’s sensor system. Discussion There have been few previous examples of science-art collaboration, where the science has acted as the stimulus or inspiration for the generation of performance. In Sleep/Wake the science of sleep was combined with dance and drama to depict the world of sleep from dif- ferent perspectives (Trubridge & Gander, 2008). The Waking Incubator grew out of the success of Sleep/Wake in many ways. Collapse (Suddenly Falling Down) (Neff, et al., 2010) is another recent collaboration between scientists and artists that depicts the collapse of human societies, similar to the premise described in Jared Diamond’s book of the same name (Diamond, 2005). These extended collaborations appear to produce outcomes that enhance the non-scientific public’s awareness of aspects of science, by telling a particular story in a dramatic or captivating way (Avraamidou & Osborne, 2009; Negrete & Lartigue, 2010). The many outputs of the Waking Incubator suggested that the science of sleep could be in- spirational to creative artists as well. 296 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER Emergent Themes One major theme that emerged explored the differences between artists and scientists with regard to emotion and explanation, subjectivity and objectivity, as collaborators tried to define the differences and similarities of the “two cultures”. Sally Morgan reflected on this divide in these comments from her reflections on the week. Some unproven propositions: It is a scientist’s job to explain It is an artist’s job not to explain It is a scientist’s job to answer questions It is an artist’s job to pose questions It is a scientist’s job to take the personal out It is an artist’s job to put the personal in It is an artist’s job to exploit the emotional in their work It is a scientist’s job to remove the emotional from their work. Sally Morgan, Waking Incubator 2010 Philippa Gander pointed out that the scientist also had to pose the question, before it could be answered. Emotional subjectivity in biophysical science is usually regarded as off limits (Hanrahan, 2000; MacMynowski, 2007). Yet aspects of a wide range of sciences have been described as art (Hildebrand, 2004; Vitale, Davis, & Tran, 2005; Wilder, 2009). The scientist takes on the role of objectivity like an actor. When a magician uses sleight of hand, you are deluded, even when a “scientist” tells you how it’s done. A theatre audience can be described as passive: awake, but not moving. Watching a performance, your brain has its visual and limbic (“emotional”) systems active, but the frontal (“thinking”) lobes are suppressed (Park, et al., 2009). Does this indicate a suspension of disbelief and judgement? Perhaps this is why the interactive light box, Rest Shift Rest, was so popular with the public (Figure 1), in that the projection of the silhouette onto the ceiling was simultaneously unreal and unexpected and yet clearly the reality of the person on the box. The entrainment by light of a central pacemaker area in the brain, gives us a 24-hour cir- cadian rhythm. If no light signals reach the eyes, the daily wake-sleep rhythm gradually stretches out to more than 24 hours (Golombek & Rosenstein). Images and concepts relating to rhythms formed a strong part of many of the outcomes of the Waking Incubator. The dance Binaural Beat incorporated the day-night cycle of the sun and the interaction of light with the brain, as did the photographic work Stages of Sleep. The artists related more to the daily sleep-wake rhythms and the perception of waking, than they did to the idea of electrical 297 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY activity in the brain. Unlike in the previous Gander-Trubridge collaboration Sleep/Wake, brain waves were not a major feature of the art works produced, or were translated into sound, rather than shown visually. Artists also expressed more interest in symbolism and metaphor, than in the actual science and there was a feeling that the scientists were there to provide material for the artists, rather than to gain inspiration for their own research. It was clear throughout the week that the Open Laboratory would display new creative art works communicating and reinterpreting sleep science, rather than actual scientific results. I am interested in all the things ‘waking’ symbolises, as opposed to all the scientific investigation into what waking actually is. I would be interested to test the cultural image of ‘awakening’ as the epitome of sudden lucidity, revelation, an epiphany: a disruptive apprehension of a previously unguessed at Truth. … I had anticipated being able to work with Karyn on how we might turn this into an installation, but of course she is asleep. She’s been up all night monitoring me. Sally Morgan, Waking Incubator Notes, February 2010 A second theme that emerged was that of the artist “putting on the white coat” of the scientist and gaining inspiration from the experimental process and equipment of sleep science. Before I could perform any task, I had to go to sleep, and my sleeping performance that night was poor. The EEG recordings from me that Karyn and Perrine monitored and interpreted through the night and printed out, evidence this. I only once reached slow wave sleep long enough to be woken from it, and REM sleep just before wake up time. Brent Harris, Reflections on the Waking Incubator 2010 Jean Fleming noted in her journal: Anne Noble discussed the importance of close observation. She talked about dialogues: “parallel worlds interacting and sparking new bubbles”. This is exactly what inter- disciplinary research between two sciences attempts to do too. Jean Fleming, Waking Incubator Journal 2010 The rigour of the scientific process can make scientifically trained minds baulk at creative art that pushes the boundaries of reality and yet bases itself on science. In this respect the artists seemed freer to travel outside their personal boundaries than the scientists. Reflections on the Goals The Waking Incubator aimed to explore new ways of understanding the transitions between sleeping and waking. It succeeded in this goal, the week leading to the development of a wide range of creative works, all related to sleep, if not specifically to the sleep-wake transition. The range of techniques employed, from photography to dance and sound, mirrored the range of expertise brought together. Sally Morgan reflected on the week of collaboration: 298 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER Collaboration often focuses on what you’ve got in common, but in my collaborations over the years, I’ve found the most interesting conversations start when you discover where you’re different. That’s when you get challenged and all your assumptions and values are tested. Both artists and scientists found differences in approach to collaboration and in the experience gained from the Waking Incubator. In this project the scientists were like jewel boxes. How could we not want to use their stuff? It was beautiful, wonderful stuff. Did we care, did I care, how they got there, what their methodology was, how it was ‘Science’? Did it matter if we cared? There was their product–the strings of pearls and diamonds that spilled over every time they opened up – the things that astonished us, that we’d never known or guessed at before. Then there were their tools – the labs, the machines, the wires, the things that bleeped. A jewel box; a lolly shop; an intoxicating and mesmerising set of possibilities! I couldn’t help it: I wanted to make Art out of their stuff. Did they want to make Science out of our stuff? I don’t know; to my regret I didn’t ask them. They looked as though they wanted to make Art too, not Science; to go slightly guiltily into a world where the rules were different. It did occur to me that, while we wanted to make art out of them, they had no inclination to make science out of us. Sally Morgan, Reflections on the Waking Incubator February 2010 The second objective of The Waking Incubator was to evaluate and describe different models of arts/science collaboration. The experience clearly led to a wide range of collaborations, some of which are still evolving and being refined. No one factor determined whether a specific collaboration would result in the creation of a successful work. The interactions between participants were sometimes technical and always personal and the works produced appeared always to be “in progress” or “in development”, as opposed to completed. How to evaluate the interaction between sleep scientist and artist; or between Karyn, me, recording technologies of EEG and video, video camera operator, sleep technologist, sleep/wake research centre, and this current reflection (as re-enactment and iteration)? The interaction’s biggest limitation was its one-sidedness. Karyn worked to serve an experiment that, while it qualified as art; did not qualify as science. The next challenge would be to carry out a project designed to be useful across a science-arts border, and to productively further question that border itself. Brent Harris, Reflections on the Waking Incubator 2010 The process of successful collaboration is not well understood. Thomson et al. (Thomson, Perry, & Miller, 2009) suggested the governance of the relationship is important. Collabor- ators must negotiate to make decisions jointly. However these authors were primarily dis- cussing organisational collaboration, rather than creative work in small groups or pairs. The other factor that may have been important in determining successful collaborations was that of the time frame of the Incubator. Participants were not obliged to continue the relationships beyond the week of interaction. In this respect, The Waking Incubator paralleled another art-science collaboration, the e-MobiLArt project described by Charitos, Korakidou, & 299 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY Meimaris (2010), but differed from the ongoing Fish: Bird collaboration of Velonaki, Rye, Scheding, & Williams (2008). On-going collaboration may be facilitated if the participants are based in the same location, reducing travel costs and allowing ongoing face-to-face dis- cussion. The Waking Incubator certainly succeeded in its third objective, to develop new works and engage the public in this dialogue. The creative works produced continue to be developed and will be exhibited at conferences in Brazil, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Japan over 2010-2011. The majority of participants considered the week had been productive and stimulatory, in both an academic and artistic sense. I am still fascinated by the question I set myself at the outset, and was beginning to explore with Karyn: “Is it possible to make something that can exist in these two parallel systems [Art and Science] simultaneously? Can you do something that satisfies both sets of tenets but compromises neither?” I remain convinced that Science and Art both give us something different, and that both these things are necessary to illuminate the human condition and the world we live in. I like the idea of friendly and close relations and conversations between us that result in the unexpected and the delightful. Sally Morgan, The Waking Incubator, February 2010 From the perspective of science communication, The Waking Incubator combined the deficit model of communication, where scientists talk about their research findings to a non-scientific audience, with genuine dialogue, allowing the re-interpretation of the science in creative art (Burns, O'Connor, & Stocklmayer, 2003; Fleming, 2009). Conclusions “The Two Cultures” by C P Snow turned 50 in 2009 (Snow, 1993). The writing seems dated now, but the message still resonates. There was a remaining tension between the “cultures” during The Waking Incubator, which felt stronger between artists and scientists than between “art” and “science”. The importance of emotion in art and of objectivity in science often kept the collaborators at arm’s length from each other. There were a few moments of ‘touch and go’ where our tenets clashed. Two instances I clearly remember were to do with scientists doing a really good job of explaining, and artists feeling strongly that their work would be compromised by that very act. Sometimes, I felt, that situation made the scientists feel unexpectedly rejected or attacked, whilst the artists felt utterly compromised. Each group seemed to have moments where they were keenly aware of how their peer group would perceive them if they did or didn’t ‘explain’. Not to provide explanation would have been bad if you were a scientist, whereas the reverse appeared true for the artists. Sally Morgan, The Waking Incubator, February 2010 300 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER Brent’s” Cross-Purpose Experiment” left visitors frustrated yet curious, as it moved between “playing-out” the difficult collaborative interaction and clearly “explaining” aspects of its procedure and data. This “warping of the genres” became frustrating to many, including some of the participating scientists, who declared Brent’s experiment “just wasn’t science”. It was, however, an interesting form of science communication, which emphasised the im- portance of dialogue and respect for all points of view in science communication (Fleming, 2003, 2009). I became an “actor” playing the role of experimental participant, research collaborator and performance artist, whereas Karyn became an actor playing the role of scientist. Brent Harris, Reflections on the Waking Incubator 2010 We conclude that the Waking Incubator succeeded in its goals. The project brought together people from a wide range of disciplines with a common interest and purpose and resulted in the production of a variety of works. The process of meaningful conversation and discussion stimulated respect for and interest in each other’s paradigms and promoted both art and science communication. This art-science project provided some insight on how trans-disciplinary collaborations can be established, and on what basis successful collaborations can flourish. Such art-science interactions continue to challenge the traditional views of art and science. Acknowledgements The participants in The Waking Incubator would like to acknowledge the considerable technical and design expertise of Chris Harris, Rowan Pierce, Perrine Boy and Marcus Mc- Shane, of the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand. 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Psychological Medicine, 35, 939-944. 302 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER Table 1: Participants in The Waking Incubator, held at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Participant Affiliation Professor Philippa Director, Sleep/Wake Research Chronobiologist Gander Centre, Massey University, Welling- ton, NZ Sam Trubridge Institute of Design for Industry and Performance designer Environment, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Professor Anne Noble Director of Research, College of Cre- Photographer ative Arts, Massey University, Wel- lington, NZ Professor Sally J Pro Vice Chancellor, College of Cre- Installation and performance Morgan ative Arts, Massey University, Wel- artist lington, NZ Professor Anna Professor Emeritus, Centre for Chro- Chronobiologist Wirz-Justice nobiology, Psychiatric Hospitals, University of Basel, Switzerland Professor Jean S Centre for Science Communication, Science communicator Fleming University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ Dr Anne Niemetz Senior Lecturer, Media Programme, Media artist School of Design, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ Dr Carol Brown Carol Brown Dances, Auckland, NZ Choreographer, Dancer and Artistic Director Russel Scoones Carol Brown Dances, Auckland, NZ Composer and musician Brent Harris PhD candidate, AUT University, Performance artist Auckland, NZ Rosemary Gibson PhD candidate, Sleep/Wake Research Sleep scientist Centre, Massey University, Welling- ton, NZ Karyn O’Keefe PhD candidate, School of Medicine Sleep physiologist & Health Sciences, University of Ot- ago, Wellington, NZ 303 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY Figure 1: Science Communication Banners Hung to Enclose a Small Space. Photograph: Anne Noble, February 2010 Figure 2: Rest Shift Rest Light Box with Projection onto the Ceiling. Photographs: Anna Wirz-Justice, February 2010 304 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER Figure 3: In the Manner of a Dream/As a Matter of Fact. A Photographic Work Depicting Light and the Brain, by Anne Noble (left) and Anna Wirz Justice (Right). Photograph: Jean Fleming 305 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY About the Authors Prof. Jean S. Fleming Jean S Fleming ONZM is a Professor of Science Communication in the University of Otago’s Centre for Science Communication. She has 35 years of research experience as a biochemist, cell biologist and reproductive biologist and has taught Anatomy and Physiology at all tertiary levels since 1994. Jean convenes the Popularising Science stream of the Masters of Science Communication at the Centre. She is interested in worldwide best practice in science com- munication and the interaction of science and scientists with other world-views. Rosemary Gibson Rosie Gibson has a background in Psychology (Plymouth University, UK). She trained as a clinical sleep technician in Bristol (UK) and is registered as a Polysomnographic Techno- logist (BRPT). Rosie joined the Sleep/Wake Research Centre in 2008 as a Masters student. Her research focuses on sleep across the lifespan, including the factors which affect infants sleep, and her current PhD project which concerns the sleep of older people with dementia and their caregivers. Brent Harris Brent Harris’ research-practice works through performance art and dance. Performances engage with the relation of contemporary philosophical understandings of “the event” as that which exceeds understanding and anticipation, to the mode of knowledge and exchange. He has presented collaborative and solo work widely in New Zealand, and at the fifteenth Performance Studies international conference in Zagreb in 2009. He is a PhD candidate at AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand. Prof. Sally Morgan Sally J Morgan studied fine art, specialising in painting at Sheffield College of Art, then the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp as a British Council/Flemish Ministry of Culture Post-Graduate Scholar. In the early eighties she was awarded a European Research Fellowship in Fine Art, hosted jointly by Exeter College of Art in England, and the Academy of the Visual Arts [Staedel Schule] in Frankfurt, Germany. She later studied History at Ruskin College, under the influential social historian Raphael Samuel. Sally has over fifty exhibitions to her name; presenting works across the world in venues such as London’s Institute of Contemporary Art [ICA], Bristol’s Arnolfini, and galleries in Germany, France, Switzerland and the USA. Her work is held in several collections and she has also been selected to rep- resent contemporary British art in a number of international showcases. She has been the recipient of numerous artist’s grants, honoraria, and awards, and has been an independent reviewer for the UK Arts and Humanities Research Board’s Research Grants. Sally Morgan has a continuing studio practice and actively researches in, and through, the creative arts. Prof. Anne Noble Anne Noble is one of New Zealand’s most respected photographers. Her substantial body of work spans landscape, documentary and installations that incorporate both still and moving images. Since 2001, Anne has been researching and photographing Antarctica, ex- ploring the cultural construction of place through imagination and depiction. In 2001 The NZ Dunedin Public Art Gallery curated a major retrospective of her work. The resulting 306 FLEMING, GIBSON, HARRIS, MORGAN, NOBLE, O’KEEFFE, WIRZ-JUSTICE, TRUBRIDGE, GANDER exhibition States of Grace, toured New Zealand 2001 – 2003. In 2005 and 2006 her work featured in exhibitions at the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, in Berlin and the Patio Herreriano in Spain. Anne’s series Ruby’s Room was exhibited at the Musee du quai Branly in Paris in 2007. In 2003, Anne was awarded a NZ Royal Society, Science and Technology Promotion Fund grant to lead Revisioning Science: Love and passion in the scientific imagination, a participatory photographic and life history research project. In 2003, she was also recognized in Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to photography in New Zealand. Karyn O’Keeffe Karyn is a registered Clinical Physiologist at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand. She has been involved in research investigating sleep at flight altitude, narcolepsy, sleep inertia, and insomnia. Karyn trains staff and Research Assistants in the finer points of sleep monitoring and also lectures in sleep physiology in a 200-level undergraduate course on sleep, circadian rhythms and shift work. Prof. Anna Wirz-Justice Anna Wirz-Justice’s research interests include human chronobiology and sleep regulation and light therapy for the treatment of depressive illness. In 2002 Anna was a consultant to Philippe Rahm and Jean-Gilles Décosterd in creating their light room in the Swiss Pavillion at the Venice Bienniale, Physiological Architecture. Sam Trubridge Sam Trubridge trained at Elam School of Fine Arts, Slade School of Fine Arts (London), and completed his Master’s in Design at Massey University, Wellington. He directed and designed The Restaurant of Many Orders: an ‘international work in progress’ shown at Sadler’s Wells in London, Wellington, Auckland, Prague, Florence, Prato, and Rome. Prior to this he directed film and theatre in London and Auckland, such as the short film Mobiles (Raindance 2002), a short film The Harvest (Hiroshima Short Film Festival 2004), Henry V (Auckland’s 36th Summer Shakespeare), and The Tempest in Auckland’s Tepid Baths. He has published articles in Illusions (NZ), and Theatre Forum (USA). He currently lectures in Performance Design and Spatial Design at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts. He is the NZ editor for a three-volume publication World Scenography published in America for OISTAT. In 2007 he began working with Professor Philippa Gander and Massey’s Sleep/Wake Research Centre on Sleep/Wake. This arts-science performance project that has been presented in Wellington’s Print Factory venue in 2008, and in the 2009 Auckland Festival at Auckland’s Town Hall. It has also produced a range of other projects, including the Waking Arts/Science Incubator in 2010. Prof. Philippa Gander Professor Philippa Gander completed her doctorate in chronobiology (the study of biological clocks) at Auckland University in 1980, then moved to Harvard Medical School in Boston as a Senior Fulbright Fellow. In 1983 she was recruited to NASA Ames Research Centre in Mountain View, California, where she worked on circadian physiology, sleep, and fatigue and their consequences for aviation safety, and for manned exploration of the solar system. In 1996, a Repatriation Fellowship from the Health Research Council of NZ enabled her to 307 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY return to establish the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, now at Massey University. Central to Philippa’s research is how the circadian biological clock drives body and brain function through daily cycles, and the consequences of working against these rhythms, for example in shift work and jet lag. Much of her work has an applied focus, developing scientifically- based strategies to minimize the health and safety risks associated with shift work and transmeridian flight. In November 2009, Philippa was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand for her innovative research on the science of sleep and fatigue risk management. 308 Editors Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Michael Peters, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Editorial Advisory Board Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Carlos Elias, University Carlos III of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Karim Gherab Martín, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Michael Peters, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. 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