The experience of Oorwonde is not the same for all users.

Oorwonde not only makes use of infrasound, but also of very high frequencies. Whilst the low frequencies can be felt by everyone, the presentations revealed that the high sounds are not within everyone's reach. From a certain pressure onwards, the neck element produces frequencies of up to 20000 Hz. The sounds are transmitted directly underneath the neck. The combination of the high frequencies and the ongoing pulse of the electro-magnet resembling a heartbeat provide an alienating effect. However, some members of the audience were not able to hear these high frequencies; due to age or hearing damage this frequency range was beyond their perception.

Another element that influences the experience of the work is the thickness of the clothes the patient is wearing. Visitors are asked to take off their shoes and coats as less textile gives a more intense experience of the work. This is also reflected by the observation that most visitors react strongly to the foot sensations.

Although Oorwonde has not reinvented the wheel, it has added several new elements and insights to the work of its precursors.

In contrast to other works focusing on the sensation of subsonic sounds discussed earlier, Oorwonde is an interactive work. The user cannot only determine the duration of the piece but can also affect its course. The force sensitive resistors allow the user to decide which element is activated. By exerting more or less pressure on the controllers the user can influence one or more parameters of the sound. I have opted for an obvious link between the amount of pressure and the changes in the sound to make it clear to the user that their action directly influences sound. More pressure will for example increase the frequency of a sound or the amount of amplitude modulation.

While most related practices exclusively opt for speakers, I have chosen not to limit the reproduction of sound to one type of audio transducer. Oorwonde makes use of four speakers, three electro-magnets, one vibrator motor and one piezoelectric disk. This diversity makes it possible to convert subsonic sounds into different sensations and contributes to the variety of the different sound producing elements. As a consequence sounds designed for a specific sound-producing element are not exchangeable for another type of audio transducer, as the obtained effect would be different.

Like Kaffe Matthews, Bernhard Leitner, Wendy Jacob and some treatments of the Ultrasound of Therapy I have also chosen to integrate my sound producing elements into and onto the surface on which the user takes place. Whereas the speakers built into Matthews' bed, Jacob's floor or Leitner's chair are aimed towards the whole surface of the object, I wanted to direct sound to specific parts of the body. The movement of one sound producing element is limited to a specific point and will not cause the complete table to vibrate. This approach is similar to Lynn Pook's work in which the sound producing elements are aimed towards a specific part of the body.

Oorwonde and the Ultrasound of Therapy share their medical concept. In the Ultrasound of Therapy this concept is embedded in several components of the work: The use of former hospital beds, and operating tables, the screens seperating the beds, the clothing of the artists and guides, the red cross utilised in the logo and the admission procedure and evaluationt. This medical aura is less explicitly present in Oorwonde. The use of stainless steel, the minimal design of the table and the brightness of the lamp are implicit references to an operating table, but no genuine elements of the medical sector are used. It is the visitors who have to make this association themselves.

Presentations of Oorwonde have shown that the audience does make the association with an operating table as the medical aura surrounding the work frightens some people and makes them hesitant to lay down on the table. This hesitation has an unforesoon advantage. Some people prefer to watch rather than to participate. As Oorwonde is created for one person, this indecisiveness prevents long waiting lines.

Once people have overcome their fear they are surprised that Oorwonde is actually a pleasant experience. It was my intention to combine a fearsome appearance and a quasi massage like treatment, to make a work of which the design and sensation seem contradictory.

Oorwonde sits at the junction of a sound installation and a one-on-one performance. As with sound art, the perception of the visitor is central and sound is spread in space, although this spatiality is restricted to the human body. The dimension of time is not completely abandoned, since Oorwonde has a well-defined beginning and end, as determined by the visitor. In contrast to most sound works there is a certain development of the musical and tactile material which the visitor is able to influence. The work does not stand completely on its own as it needs some framing. A person is present to guide the visitor and give basic explanations. The creation and presentation of Oorwonde has provided insight into the borders of sound art and its intersection with performance art. Oorwonde has shown what parameters are substantial to distinguish art forms from one another and therefore contributed to the development of my analysis tool. Oorwonde cannot strictly be assigned to sound art or music as elements of both forms are present. This spatial, musical, tactile and interactive composition is, above all, something you have to experience.

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