Our personalities define us far more than our physical bodies. When a veteran returns from war after losing their arm, we see them as the same person, just with new challenges. But when a football player retires and becomes prone to anger, depression, or memory loss from traumatic brain injuries they might seem like a completely different person.

Brain neurons are coated with a special fatty substance known as myelin which smooths and accelerates signals across the nervous system. When the myelin is damaged or lost, brain functions can slow, weaken, or outright fail.

INTERACTION: Visitors were invited to push the pillows and notice the varying responses. Pillows with more cushioning send a longer, stronger light response, while thinner cushions go a bit haywire when activated - mimicking the effect of healthy and degraded myelin.

Impulse features a series of 10 translucent pressure- activated pillows connected in one long chain, with varying degrees of cushioning. When visitors push on a pillow, it sends light propagating down the chain.

Over 5 million Americans live with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis; their caregivers and extended communities are all impacted by their loss of memory, motor function, and cognitive abilities. This interactive exhibition gives visitors a first-hand grasp of myelin’s essential role in our lives.

One of the foremost challenges for this piece was figuring out how to create a modular system responsive to touch. After discarding several options that were wildly cost-prohibitive, measuring air pressure seemed like the most straightforward approach.

Each modular pillow or myelin sheath is controlled by a custom board daisy-chained to all other boards. The system is designed to sense when a pillow is pushed and what kind of pillow (healthy or degraded), which precipitates the appropriate illuminated response.