Alertness Enhancing Device (2008) is a harness for self-conditioning. It emitts mild electric shocks on demand that can be increased by turning a dial.
The device claims to be a training tool for people who want to fear the »right« things in a plethora of scare scenarios presented to us by mass media.
Faced with real, but less spectacular dangers (e. g. environmental pollution versus acts of terrorism), the wearer exposes himself to the uncanny electrical stimulation.
Stimulated by the electric current, the wearer's neck hair starts to raise, imitating an instinctual reaction and indicating a state of increased alertness.
Z33 – House for Contemporary Art, Hasselt Be (2011) / Royal College of Art, London (2008)
See yourself Sensing: Redefining Human Perception. Black Dog Publishers