Ephemeral, 2024
Speculative transdermal implant prototype designed to release synthetic emotions, dimensions variable; Courtesy of the artist; Commissioned by the Beall Center for Art + Technology’s Black Box Projects residency program
Ephemeral imagines a future where venture capitalists embrace “emotion technology,” speculating far beyond current emotion-sensing devices limited to analyzing facial expressions and biometrics. The project prototypes a transdermal implant which detects chemical levels in a user’s bloodstream and releases neuropeptides to trigger the artificial sensation of a targeted emotion—including love, excitement, or the feeling of a brand. The Ephemeral installation includes a video of a fictive conference in which a future company is promoting the implant. Intended as a provocation, the project explores the complex physiology of emotions and reminds of the uncertain future humans face with advancing biotechnologies.
→ Behind the Science
Ephemeral draws from research into neuropeptides—biochemical messengers that pass signals between neurons—and their complex effects on emotions. Consensus remains unclear as to the precise combinations of neuropeptides that produce specific emotions, given the complexity of cultural, environmental, and genetic factors influencing emotional responses. Research is currently underway to develop implant devices with the ability to sense chemical levels in the blood, such as neuropeptides, and administer tailored doses of medications directly into the bloodstream. During her residency with the Beall Center, Tapio worked with microfluidics researchers to imagine the ever-more-realistic future of such technologies.
“This work interrogates the belief that we can precisely control our living bodies through technology. We have a very limited ability to grasp very complex information, such as the layered mechanisms of emotion.” —Hege Tapio
Digital image showing production of microfluidic implant
Courtesy of the artist.
Courtesy of the artist.
Hege Tapio is a Norwegian artist based in Stavanger, the country’s oil capital. Tapio is currently pursuing artistic research with FeLT (Futures of Living Technologies) and is an interdisciplinary PhD fellow at the Innovation for Sustainability Program at OsloMet. Her practice examines the body as a landscape for “extreme self-mining” in bio-art installations, videos, and performances. She is the founder and director of i/o/lab – Center for Future Art, where she produced and curated a biennial from 2006–16.
Ephemeral was made possible with support from the UC Irvine Beall Center for Art + Technology, The Beall Family Foundation, and Getty. The project’s short movie was shot and edited by Bo B. Randulff, starring actor Barbara Bang. Filming locations were provided by Stavanger Concert House and Stavanger University. The microfluidic implant device was made in collaboration with Elliot Hui (Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine) and UC Irvine PhD candidates Kayla Gee, Samir Malhotra and Yoo Na Kim.
