Pulse Topology by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer x Superblue at Design Miami Basel – Image courtesy of James Harris.
Design – Superblue art and design platform returns to Design Miami/ Basel 2002 to once again take over the 2500-sqm ground floor hall of the Messeplatz, greeting audiences as they first enter the fair. This year, Superblue presents Pulse Topology, the latest biometric artwork by pioneering Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s collaboration with BMW.
- RELATED STORIES: Read more about Design Miami/ Basel 2022 on Archipanic…
Photo: courtesy of James Harris.
Six thousand lightbulbs suspended at different heights create a series of crests and valleys – an intimate landscape visitors are invited to traverse. Each lightbulb glimmers to the pulse of a different participant, which contributes to a connective arrangement. Custom-made pulse sensors record visitor heartbeats; when a new participant interacts with the installation, their pulse is added to the canopy of recordings above them, with the newest recording replacing the oldest.
Forming a platform for self-representation, in Pulse Topology, individual heartbeats come together to create an immersive chorus of light and sound. Translating an interior force to an exterior form, Lozano-Hemmer makes tangible the otherwise invisible register of the heartbeat, which glows and then fades in the spirit of a memento mori.
Recognized for his interactive installations at the intersection of architecture and performance art, Lozano-Hemmer’s works are activated by the real-time detection of viewers’ biometrics such as heartbeats, breaths, voices, or fingerprints.
“This immersive installation lets visitors be an integral part of the artwork, a human-centric approach to technological innovation that corresponds to the sentience of the new BMW i7.” Explain at BMW.
Photo via IG by @superblue.art.
Photos: courtesy of Superblue and Design Miami/ Basel 2022.
Photo via IG by @superblue.art.
