BodyMouth

BodyMouth is a bespoke computational sound / movement tool created by Kat Mustatea that turns the body into an instrument for speech. Wearing sensors on various body parts, a dancer sounds out words phoneme-by-phoneme by performing specific gestures in sequence, as if the body is quite literally turned into a mouth.

The geometries involved in speech production—including the tongue, oral cavity, lips, and larynx—are mapped in real time via custom software to precise spatial data from several trackers on a performer's body. BodyMouth is effectively a form of body augmentation with sensors and software that allows the dancer to control the production of speech via the gestures of the body. The result is a mesmerizing blend of dance and language, a form of speaking outside of the mouth, that discombobulates language, breath, and body in exciting new ways.

“[BodyMouth] creates the possibility for brand new genres of artistic expression.”—Gizmodo

BodyMouth is a finalist for the 2024 Guthman Prize for New Musical Instruments, and was recently featured in Gizmodo. A version of the instrument will be used in an upcoming project, ielele, a series of live performances about alternate forms of speech and the task of creating voices for the voiceless. This unusual instrument has been developed through residencies and fellowships at New York University’s ITP/IMA Program, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, MOCO—the Conference on Movement and Computing, Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre, and with ongoing support from Onassis ONX.