Awake / Asleep
2023
Single Channel Data Visualization
CPAP sleep data, MDF, fresnel lens, Raspberry Pi, LCD screen, acrylic.
13” x 13” x 5.5”
In ‘Awake/Asleep,’ I explore the interconnected nature of waking and sleeping states and how they influence and reflect one another through an animated data visualization. As someone who has sleep apnea, I rely on a CPAP machine to help me breathe while I sleep. For this piece, I used data recorded by my CPAP machine in 2022 to visualize the complex and often enigmatic experience of losing consciousness and entering the dream world. The data includes the apnea hypopnea index, which refers to periods of time during sleep when a person’s breathing is interrupted or becomes shallow. These interruptions can cause a person to wake up briefly, disrupting their sleep and potentially leading to negative health effects. The video loop is 365 seconds long, with each second representing a night of the year. The animated point of light behind the fresnel lens and diffusion materials represents the elusive nature of dreams and invites the viewer to consider the mysteries that lie within their own unconscious minds. The size of the point of light is controlled by the number of hours of sleep, while the apnea hypopnea index subtly shifts the color, creating a dynamic visual representation of the data. The use of dark and light, with the white point serving as an inverse of the black pupil, adds to the theme of the duality of consciousness.
On a conceptual level, the use of a lens in this piece serves to reinforce and enhance the themes and ideas that I am exploring. The diffuse or distorted effect of the lens symbolizes the elusive, ephemeral, and intangible nature of dreams and the unconscious mind, and invites the viewer to consider the mysteries that lie within their own unconscious mind. The lens also represents the opposing or complementary nature of waking and sleeping states and the way in which they influence and reflect one another. Through this piece, I aim to invite the viewer on a journey into the depths of the dream world and to consider the ways in which our waking and sleeping states can offer insights and opportunities for reflection and understanding.
