Innovative art project revealing hidden soundscape of cardiac surgery an overseas success
Pulse, developed by Rob Godman, Reader in Music at the University’s School of Creative Arts, in collaboration with Dr Giampaolo Martinelli, Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist at Barts Health NHS Trust, uses real-time audio recordings to capture the ambient sounds during major surgical procedures. It’s been on show at Kuala Lumpur’s Multimedia University as part of their Evolving Matter: Artistic Process as Experimental Inquiry exhibition, and applauded for bridging the gap between science and art.
Funded by an AHRC Impact Accelerator Award, the sounds inside the operating theatre were recorded during thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repairs and ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablations at St Bartholomew’s Hospital between May 2022 and November 2024, with Rob showcasing the sounds throughout this period. The final exhibition focuses on tone, rhythm and repetition within the theatre environment, drawing attention to conversations, equipment, room acoustics and subtle patterns that shaped the surgical experience.
Although the research is ongoing, initial observations highlighted a need for greater understanding of how noise affects both staff and patients in surgical and intensive care environments. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some patients may experience stress linked to sound and light exposure in intensive care settings, with potential implications for recovery and wellbeing.
Reflecting on the project, Rob said: “Listening closely reveals an operating theatre that is far more dynamic and human than many people imagine, and some are frightened of. Pulse allows us to experience surgery as it unfolds in real time, offering a perspective that is rarely accessible to the public. Visitors to the exhibition were offered earphones so that they were in control of the experience.”
Since its launch in 2023, Pulse has been showcased at a variety of arts and science events worldwide. Its first major appearance was at the University of Hertfordshire’s Arts:Sci exhibition in 2022, followed by a stint in 2023 at the Applied Sciences and Arts Research Colloquium at the University of Lucerne, and then at the Art & Science workshop hosted by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in Grenoble.
The successful Kuala Lumpur exhibition closed on 28 November 2025, with Pulse next due to appear in Barts North Wing’s famous Great Hall as part of its Arts/Medicine exhibition in London from 16th March 2026.
Pulse is one of several projects emerging from the University’s Art Sci Lab, which Rob Godman co-founded in 2021 with Samantha Jury. The Lab leads research at the intersection of art and science, promoting art as a knowledge-forming discipline and advancing genuinely collaborative, transdisciplinary approaches. Its work focuses on co-creation between artists and scientists, exploring how new forms, methods and insights can emerge.
Find out more about Pulse or about the upcoming Pulse exhibition at Barts North Wing.