Meet the woman who can feel every single earthquake on Earth

A self-described cyborg, Spanish performer Moon Ribas is using herself as a work of art to demonstrate how little we really know about the planet we live in

Moon Ribas, the Spanish performance artist can feel every single earthquake that takes place on the planet, thanks to a sensor she had developed and implanted in her left arm three years ago. Connected to an online seismograph that collects data from all over the world, the sensor can detect earthquakes measuring as little as 1 on the Richter scale - and vibrates every time, with the intensity of the vibrations directly proportional to the intensity of the earthquake.
To answer the question of 'why', one would need to go back to her days of studying choreography at the "very experimental" Dartington College of Arts in southwest England. "The aim there was to find your own voice and style as an artist," the 31-year-old recalls, speaking from her hotel room in Argentina. For Moon, that meant trying to perceive 'movement' in a deeper way. "Humans are not the only things that move," she says. "There are many things that move in many different ways. The earth itself moves constantly: it not only rotates, but also shakes - everyday, constantly. only we're not aware of it. I thought it would be amazing to be connected to those movements."
That's when she came up with the idea of using technology to achieve that end - and now she feels earthquakes constantly. Sometimes, it's every two minutes, sometimes eight, other times 20. "Earthquakes are the heartbeat of our planet," says Moon. "I always say I now feel like I have two heartbeats in my body: my own and the Earth's. It's a sense that makes me realise how alive our planet really is."
Initially, the constant inputs from the sensor were very distracting. "The vibrations used to interrupt my work or wake me up in the middle of the night. But I've learnt to get used to them now . If it's a particularly big one, I check the news to find out where it happened. In fact," she adds, "there was a pretty big one in Papua New Guinea last night." [A quick Google search revealed that a 6.9 magnitude earthquake did strike the coast of the southwestern Pacific country on the morning of October 17 - the day before this interview was conducted.]
But as of now, Moon's sensor cannot identify an earthquake's location - only its intensity. It's something she's looking to modify over the next summer, when she will undergo a procedure to relocate the implant to her feet, as that would be more "natural" and help her "perceive the earthquakes better".
What's the oddest experience she's had with these vibrations? "Probably the time I was in Barcelona watching people build castells (human towers) - it's a Catalan tradition. I felt a very intense vibration at the same moment that some of the climbers in front of me slipped and came crashing down from their human tower. No one got hurt, thankfully, and I later checked up and saw that the vibration had come from a strong earthquake somewhere in the Middle East - but it was a surreal moment because both incidents were recorded inside and 'outside' me at the same time."
Moon considers her 'seismic sense' an art.  When she got the implant, she was the only one in the audience. "It's an art that's happening inside me (the artist) so I was the only one experiencing it at first," she explains. In order to share her experiences, Moon started creating external artworks - such as her dance piece called 'Waiting for Earthquakes'. Aptly titled, it involves her standing still till she feels a vibration and then interpreting the intensity of those vibrations as a dance - an invitation to the audience to "listen to the earth", as she puts it. "It's like a duet between the Earth and myself, with Earth being the choreographer and me interpreting the data," she notes.
What if there are no earthquakes during that time? "That's always a risk," laughs the dancer. "People don't want to book me because of this reason sometimes - because what if there's no dance?" But that's why she prefers performing this particular piece in museums or more informal spaces, where people can walk around or have a seat and wait, if they choose. "It's not a stage piece," she explains. "That would involve too much tension. like a waiting room. I like to think of the piece more as a moving sculpture, so people can decide how long they want to wait."
It was only natural that her work would garner her some criticism as well. "I guess it's a bit controversial," she agrees. "We have this image of technology being cold and distant and unnatural. Plus, I dance with earthquakes, which people usually equate with bad phenomena so I do create some uncomfortable feelings. But I always try to see things positively. To me, it just feels very profound to be united to this natural movement and creating more awareness about it."
The earthquake sensor is not the first time Moon - a self-proclaimed cyborg - has experimented with extending her natural, human abilities. In the past, her work has involved developing speedometer gloves and earrings that successfully allowed her to perceive the exact speed of movements all around her.
Now, however, her main research lies in earthquakes. "Not all earthquakes are disasters," she says. "I think it's unfair to classify all of them as bad phenomena when it's humans who haven't been able to adapt to this natural movement of the Earth. We're very disconnected to what's going on in nature. If we understood our planet more, we wouldn't build cities that made no sense. all these tall structures on top of tectonic plates that are constantly moving underneath. I think we still need to learn how to live on our planet."
(Moon Ribas will be in town for the third edition of SciFest Dubai, taking place between November 1-7, where she will be the keynote speaker. For more information, visit www.scifestdubai.com.)
karen@khaleejtimes.com

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