Celestial Palpitations (Performance)

Celestial Palpitations is a performance by artist-filmmaker Chiemi Shimada and composer and conductor Jamie Man, exploring the liminal state between being asleep and awake. It combines a slide projection work with the same title and improvised sounds that emphasise the projector’s mechanism. These rhythms evoke the sensation of heart palpitations, one of the side effects of the medicine Ritalin, the packets of which are being used for creating the slides.

This work is inspired by two things: the everyday act of opening medicine packets by Shimada's brother, who suffers from narcolepsy, and the psychophysiological state accompanying this action.

This performance is part of Shimada's ongoing research project exploring the phenomenon of sleep and sleep disorders.

Performance at Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, 2025

Performance at Cafe Oto, 2025 (photo credit: Olga Paczka)

Performance History