Crescent Moon Shield of the Dawn (a literal translation of "Lunataspis aurora," the oldest known horseshoe crab) is a long-form, process-oriented sonification piece and sound installation inspired by medical transition, bradytelic evolution, trans-ecology, and non-linear temporalities. Using TouchDesigner, I mapped the levels of estrogen, testosterone, and hemoglobin in my blood as measured by frequent blood tests – as well as the current moon phase – onto specified parameters of a Korg Minilogue XD, creating a soundscape that evolves concurrently to my bloodwork in 1:1 time. The earliest included blood test was taken on December 15th, 2022, and the most recent was done on April 18th, 2025, making the full piece 856 days in length with the possibility of growing as I continue to get bloodwork done, challenging the durational limits of installations and encouraging viewers to embrace slow-acting change. (Between those two dates, my blood was tested 6 times; I used linear extrapolation to calculate the average rate of change per day between each test. The levels update every day at midnight.) Through data sonification, the flow of a bloodstream and its subtle changes are reified and made palpable; while I designed the base program on the Korg Minilogue XD, I had to cede control over the parameters to the data, in a way giving my blood a kind of autonomy over its voice.

In exploring a trans-species relationship with horseshoe crabs, I considered how the exogenous hormones I inject are reliant on the blood of horseshoe crabs for biomedical testing, leaving our lives entangled and revealing how “[a]nimal experimentation and instrumentalization are enmeshed in the genealogies of becoming transsexual” (Hayward 2010). At the same time, those exogenous hormones are the reason I myself am bled often for scientific testing to ensure my blood levels fall within an expected range, creating a delicate web of interconnectedness and trans-corporeal becomings.

Just as the modern horseshoe crab is a product of hundreds of millions of years of evolution changing just enough to only be noticed generations down the line, this project reveals the ways I, too, am changing every day, slowly but surely.

Please email me if you'd like to read more about this project or learn more about the TouchDesigner patch I created for it.