2017
|
ART

INNARDS

Light Installation

A reactive installation that allows people to reveal a hidden part of themselves, the rhythm of their heartbeats.

pine wood, red paint, black screws, red led strips, wires & electronic components

Inner becomes outer

With every heartbeat, blood delivers vital nutrients, oxygen and other chemicals to every cell of our bodies. It also carries away our body's waste. Approximately 5 litres of blood travel many times through about 96,560 km of blood vessels linking the cells of our organs and body parts. It is an important fluid we cannot live without. The heart gets messages from the body that tells it when to pump more or less blood, beating about 100,000 times a day, more than 30 million times per year.

Loosely resembling a hut, this mesh of red wood invites passersby to get in and sync their pulse with an array of led lights scattered across the structure. It becomes active by laying a hand over the pulse sensor, otherwise, it remains dormant beating at a very slow pace.

This installation was a winning commission for the Noite Branca 2017, in Braga, Portugal.

'If hearing the heartbeat of someone you are talking to gives the same feeling of personal contact as looking each other in the eye, how would it if you could see it?'