Heartbeats: the science and art of the heart

The heart is not just the symbol of love; it is one of the central organs of the body. It keeps us alive by pumping blood carrying oxygen and nutrients around the body. When the heart gets “broken”, the rest of the body usually gets sick. Diabetes can damage the heart and blood vessels leading to serious medical emergencies like heart attacks and strokes. At the University of Leeds, researchers are working hard to understand how diabetes causes heart disease in the hope of discovering better medications. Come along to hear about the fight against “heartbreak”.

Join us for an illuminating journey into the intricate world of genetic variations and their profound impact on heart health and diabetes. In this captivating talk, we'll delve deep into the role of DNA mutations in shaping the susceptibility, progression, and management of cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. We’ll cover factors predisposing individuals to these conditions, explore how mutations may influence treatment responses, and discover how the University of Leeds is partnering with the British Heart Foundation to advance research in this field.

The Heart is an Empty Membrane is a performance using my live, amplified heart. These pulses—irregular but regulatory—will be electronically manipulated and mixed with field recordings taken from other, external chambers, vocal sounds, and poetry. In doing so, different understandings of the heart are gestured towards over the 15-minutes: a reminder of the uncomfortable relationship one has with one’s body; a relentless questioning of whether one has a body from which they are separate or if one is their body; or perhaps something yet more awkward and less definitive between the two.