INSIDE THE BEAT: PULSE TOPOLOGY

During Art Basel 2022 in Basel one of the most important leaders in the Automotive sector such as BMW took the opportunity to present the art installation Pulse Topology in collaboration with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Mexican born in 1967, has once again distinguished himself in enclosing in a single work the aesthetics that teach architecture, the precision of technology and the engaging immersion of a work that focuses on the interaction of the participants with the same.

Pulse Topology is a work that envelops spaces with shadows and light: it is in this alternation of the latter that the complexity of this project is manifested.

The drafting of the work develops with thousands of light bulbs suspended at different heights that create soft waves above the spectators. Once you get under the surface that these light bulbs create, you have the impression of being in a magical and intimate place where, although the light alternates with them being switched on and off, you feel the space in a natural way and without discomfort opticians.

At the lowest points of these waves there are heart rate sensors where participants can communicate their biometric data by approaching them. Sensors are given the task of transforming this data into audiovisual experiences by means of lights.

Pulse Topology is therefore an environment of light, shadows, sound and listening to one of the most emblematic parts of us human beings: the heartbeat and the physiological pulsation of our heart.

It may be thought that it is no coincidence that the heart rate is combined with the switching on of the light bulbs. The common denominator of both, although the movements are of a different mechanical nature, lies precisely in the electrical impulse: it is the latter the means by which this work comes to life.

In the heart there are internal electrical systems, through which impulses travel to make the muscle fibers contract and give life to the heartbeat. The light bulbs, on the other hand, work using the impulse of the electric current that passes through the filament inside the bulb, this once heated causes the electrons to shake, accelerating them in all directions and making them emit light.

The work that at first sight is a manifesto that symbolizes our life and our emotions through light is also an open reflection on the other side of the coin. Opposed to the life of the lively and brilliant heartbeat is the concept of Memento Mori. The heartbeats of the visitors, represented in real time by the sensors, remain in the “beats” of the lamps only as long as the reader reads them and then gradually fade away to make room for the next passer-by, reminding us that we are just passing through. The genius of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is precisely in this use of technology: the use of increasingly sensitive sensors does not go alongside the concept of the bionic and immortal superman, but on the contrary to a vision where man remains mortal even if surrounded by the most modern and avant-garde technologies.

The work will remain viewable overseas at Superblue in Allapattah Miami from November 2022 to August 2023.

Erika Gaburro