Reimagining twenty-first-century health environments with an artist-led process, The Harmonic Oscillator project places contemporary artist Vic McEwan within a functioning hospital ward, relocating the traditional creative working space of the studio into the living space of the health-care setting, amongst the fear of intensive care, the deafening sonic bombardment of the MRI scanner and the daily drudgery of dialysis.
​
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that average noise levels should be lower than 35 decibels in hospital treatment rooms and 30 in wards, a standard that hospitals struggle to achieve. Research tells us that the loud soundscapes of our hospital spaces are having adverse effects on recovery with identified issues including:
-
Triggering the sympathetic nervous system which increases cardiac work
-
Increased blood pressure
-
Have an adverse effects on respiratory muscle function
-
Increase sedation requirements in critically ill patients
-
Contribute to sleep disturbance
-
Cause stress reaction
-
Impair immune function
-
Decrease weight gain
-
Impair communication with staff and family – especially for mechanically ventilated patients
-
Contribute to hearing loss
-
Cause unrest for patients while under heavy sedation or being mechanically ventilated, who appear to be sleeping
This project considers how the artist-as researcher might engage with the lived experience of patients, families and staff to generate outcomes that enable a better understanding of the human experience of treatment and recovery.
​