DATA SHEET
Title / Título:
The invisible scream / El grito invisible
Team members / Miembros del equipo:
Adèle Brugidou (FR) artist / artista; Irene Quiñonero (ES) artist / artist
Scientist / Científico:
Daniel García González (ES) industrial engineer and Ph.D. from UC3M/University of Oxford / ingeniero industrial y doctor por UC3M/ niversity of Oxford; Clara Gómez Cruz (ES) biomedical engineer, Ph.D. UC3M/Institut Pasteur / ingeniera biomédica, doctora por UC3M/Institut Pasteur; Miguel Fernández de la Torre (ES) neuroscientist, Ph.D. from UAM / neurocientífico, doctor por la UAM
Carlos III University of Madrid / Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Seed / Semilla:
“The invisible choreographer and the silent cry of the cells” / “El coreógrafo invisible y el grito silencioso de las células”
Technique / Técnica:
Dance performance, installation, video, and photography / Performance de baile, instalación, vídeo y fotografía
Dimensions / Dimensiones:
4′ 300 x 500 x 300 cm
SEED
This is a scientific research motivated by the need to understand the role of mechanical variables in biological processes, such as the rigidity of the cellular environment or forces transmitted from it to the biological system of the brain. The invisible choreographer is the magnetic field, which is not seen and is capable of penetrating biological tissues. And the silent scream of cells refers to the electrical responses of cells and the breakdown of communication between them before a magneto-mechanical performance.
THE VISION OF THE CREATORS OF THE WORK
The Invisible Scream is a performance that dwells at the intersection of science and art, where the body translates into movement what occurs deep within our cells. Inspired by research on how neurons respond to mechanical stimuli—such as a blow or brain inflammation—the piece seeks to make the imperceptible visible: the physical impact that disrupts electrical communication between cells, affecting memory, cognition, and consciousness.
On a wooden platform, in complete darkness, a dancer dressed in blue performs a flamenco-inspired choreography. Four small lights—one on each hand and foot—draw impulses through the air, as if the dance were a living trace of a wounded synapse. These luminous trails, captured in long-exposure photographs during rehearsals, evoke neural networks and maps of distorted electrical signals caused by invisible trauma. The performance progresses from a subtle, intimate pulse to a deafening noise that consumes the scene. The body reacts with spasms, tension, and rhythm. The dance does not represent; it embodies. It becomes affected matter, vibration transformed into gesture. Through rhythm, impact, and imbalance, The Invisible Scream turns cellular pain into an aesthetic experience.
The work draws from references such as Picasso’s light drawings, light painting, and the ancestral expressiveness of flamenco. Using these visual and symbolic languages, it proposes a sensitive metaphor: to translate cellular mechanics into poetic imagery. In this translation, the scream is not voiced but becomes energy—an urgent force that crosses the body and resonates with the viewer.
Ultimately, The Invisible Scream is an attempt to materialize what remains hidden: from the laboratory to the stage, from the cell to the body, from silence to presence. A dialogue between disciplines that reminds us that even the most intimate and microscopic experiences can echo in the collective and human realm.
CURATOR'S VISION OF THE WORK
This SciArt work situates itself in the fragile territory where science and art converge, offering a poetic response to the hidden violence suffered by the body at a cellular level. Inspired by neuroscientific research on the effects of mechanical trauma on neurons, this performance translates microscopic pain into movement, rhythm, and light. Through flamenco-inspired choreography performed in total darkness, the dancer becomes a conduit for invisible forces—her limbs tracing luminous paths in space, like disrupted synaptic signals navigating through wounded neural networks.
This is not mere representation; it is emotion made visible. The piece questions how trauma, undetectable yet deeply transformative, can find expression through the body. Iit reflects on the nature of suffering when it lacks external markers. It foregrounds the need to acknowledge forms of pain that escape language or diagnosis. It opens a space for empathy and recognition, reminding us that unseen wounds shape not just individuals, but collective experience.
Con la colaboración de la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades @fecyt_ciencia
