CHALLENGE

Translate the latest science of sound and emotion into an immersive experience that allows audiences see and understand the power of sound on their body. 

The Barbican commissioned Kinda Studios in partnership with Nexus Studios, to explore the hidden connection between sound, emotion, and physiology. The challenge was to translate complex brain–body research into a multisensory experience that audiences could feel as well as understand — revealing the invisible ways music resonates through the body and shapes emotion in real time.

CREATIVE CONCEPT

An interactive installation revealing how music shapes us from within — helping audiences learn how their bodies respond to sound.

Blending neuroscience with interactive art, Your Inner Symphony makes hidden internal sensations visible. Using biosensors, the installation captures visitors’ physiological reactions to sound and translates them in real time into dynamic visuals — a reflection of each person’s unique “inner symphony.” This first-of-its-kind work transforms scientific data into a sensory experience, helping visitors discover how deeply music vibrates through the body to shape feeling.

EXECUTION

Interactive Sensing Stations visualising the body’s response to sound.

A series of Sensing Stations positioned throughout the exhibition transforms internal physiological data into personalised visualisations. When visitors place their hand on a sensor, real-time data — heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and electrodermal activity (EDA) — is captured and translated into a unique visual and sonic expression: their own “inner symphony.” At the final stage, visitors contribute their last reading to The Well — an evolving Collective Symphony, a shared, living composition shaped by the internal responses of every participant.