Human beings lead their lives without paying much attention to their own attributes, such as fingerprints, voices and color of their skin. Among personal attributes, when it comes to inside one's body, such as internal organs, we are especially indifferent. Probably because we pay so little attention to our internal organs, we can go through our lives well. From time to time, however, we are reminded of their existence we are not usually aware of by the sound they make. For instance, the growling sound of our stomach when we are hungry reminds us that our body has a stomach and intestines. The heartbeat we hear from our own body when we are nervous tells us that we have a heart. The sound we hear from our internal organs, such as the stomach growling and the heartbeat, should be unique to each of us. But in real life, we don’ t have the capability to identify the sound of our own internal organs. Personal attributes are believed to be unique to each person. But this exhibit proves that some of the personal attributes could remain anonymous and be shared.

You put on the headphones and attach the stethoscope on your chest. You can hear the sound of your heartbeat. When you see movies of nervous people, such as child before start running and soldiers in battle field, the volume of the sound is controlled according to the situation of the movie. Gradually  you can not distinguish whether the sound is coming from your own body or from the people in the movie. To share the heartbeat leads to imagination for other people's emotional states.

This piece was created for Exhibition
"The Definition of Self" Directed by Masahiko Sato
at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 16 July- 3rd Nov. 2010.

Film cooperation: Sekiguchidaimachi Elementary school, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Kendo Club, Daisuke Kondo