Moon Ribas, a cyborg artist: 'I want to perceive the moonquakes'

'A strange kind of art'

When and why did you decide to implant the sensors? How did you resolve on that?

I was studying dance and I wanted to perceive movements in a deeper way. Then I knew about technology that could extend my perception of movement and I started experimenting with different ways to perceive the movements. First, it was with the speed and then with presence behind me.

After experimenting with that I wanted to perceive something more universal so that my movement perception did not depend on people or objects. Then I realized that not only humans move, there are many different things that move around us in many different ways. Actually, the planet is constantly moving, it not only rotates but it shakes. Most of the time we do not feel the earthquakes. I thought it would be amazing to perceive this huge movement, natural movement into my body. And then I started doing that at first.

Now all my implants are connected to seismographs, every time there is a seismic activity, the seismograph detects it and I get a vibration in my arm. Depending on the intensity of an earthquake, the vibration is stronger or less strong.

I can't help but ask – was it painful?

No, it's just behind the skin, it's a little card. They just put it. It was not painful.

How did your close friends, relatives, parents treat this? What do they think about that?

They have different opinions. Some of the close friends like it, a lot. My parents, I guess, they think it's weird what I do. They always say that a kind of art I do is strange. Because they don't see it as art. What we do is a cyborg art, which is the art of extending your own senses. So the art work of the cyborg work is the creation of a new sense, new body.

Now all my implants are connected to seismographs, every time there is seismic activity, the seismograph detects it, I get a vibration in my arm. Depending on the intensity of an earthquake, the vibration is stronger or less strong

So, I see seismic sense as my art work. But it's an art work that happens inside my body, so I'm the only one in the audience perceiving that art. So, in order to share my experience I create an external art work, so I do performances of music, of visual art, to share a way I feel.

Do you divide your life on 'the life before' and 'the life after'?

Well, actually, all my life has been intensiting in nature and animals, to get closer connection to that. I guess it relates somehow. I've just been finding new ways of approaching that, but my interest is still the same – nature, animals and art. I use technology in order to get closer to that world. But, yeah, definitely, now my art work is always sense me.

The Moon in the elbow

In the Internet there is different information about the sensors you have. Could you tell specially for our readers what sensors do you have and where?

I call it seismic sense, now I have implanted it in my left arm. It's connected to all my seismographs. So depending on the intensity of earthquake, the vibration it's stronger or less strong. Now I'm doing recency and we put the seismic sense on the top of my feet because it feels more natural to feel earthquakes on my feet.

And I also want to add location, so that through vibration I would like to know what is happening very far from where I am or very close. Depending on the length of the vibration I would know if it is happening on the other side of the planet or very close.

My next project is to perceive the moonquakes, the seismic activity on the Moon. The Moon also has a seismic activity. It works literally not because it doesn't have tectonic plates but through gravity.

It's like I'm learning how to feel this and it's a process, not just physical but also in my brains

I think if we use the Internet as a sense, we can perceive things that are happening very far from where we are. So our sensors no longer need to be attached to our body. If we use the Internet as a sense, we can feel the things that are happening very far, like I feel earthquakes happening on the other side of the planet, but we can feel the things that are happening outside the planet.

If I perceive the moonquakes, I would be able to be in two places at the same time – my body will be on Earth but the seismic will be on the Moon. That's like my next project.

People say that when you start making tattoos, you just can't stop doing that. Is the situation with sensors the same?

Yeah, you always think about what's going next. I guess my next will be to feel the Moon. Yes, I think once you get start exploring reality in a new way, because I think when you get new senses you're designing how you want to perceive your reality. Once you start, you always realize how much happening around us. You can't stop, I guess.

Have you updated your sensors? If yes, how often do you have to do that?

There is no life timing, it's always a process. I think it will be the same as you grow old, your hair grows, your sense also grows alike, it goes further, there's always a new way to do something because we are experimenting.

Now I realize that it's make more sense to put on the feet but the first thing I did was to put it into my arm. So it's like I'm learning how to feel this and it's a process, not just physical but also in my brains, so everything keeps evolving constantly.

Art as an experiment on senses

Do you have followers? Dancers or fans, following your example, did the same thing?

I know there's lots of people doing art with technology. There's more and more people experimenting with that. I guess, people rather use technology as a tool, but I put it directly on my own body. So the technologies — it's not relevant, it's more about what's changing me, the technology. For me, the most important thing is how your brain is changing and your perception changing. I feel like I modify my mind and, as a consequence, after modifying my body I modify my mind.

I know there's lots of people doing art with technology. There's more and more people experimenting with that. I guess, people rather use technology as a tool, but I put it directly on my own body

How have your mind changed?

When your art and your sense, something like an experiment in your body, eventually your brain will change and will adapted on its own. I am not sure if brain really changes but now it definitely feels that it's really a part of me now. Sometimes I feel like I have two heartbeats – my own and the Earth beat, having on my arm. Because I've been wearing it constantly so now it's a part of me.

Cyborgs unite with technology. Our aim is to change our perception in our brain. In order to do that we do things physically but, I guess, some people change their bodies physically, but we focus on our mind and perceptions.

Do you feel like you are a super hero? Because you can feel the Earth and soon you can feel the Moon.

No, no, I've never been in science fiction and or anything super. It's feels like something superior, I always feel uncomfortable with that. We think in the same level. Actually, just nature has an amazing approach, amazing thing that we can see in the animals. I think we can get really inspired from them how they can feel reality. Immortality already exists in nature because a jellyfish never dies. It feels like a superpower but its a natural thing. So, I think, I feel more connected to nature rather that superior, trying to understand why we live, get more connected to where we live.