Title: light of heart
Medium: mixed media, water, audience’s heartbeats, stethoscopes, resin, satellite dish, amplifiers, sub woofers, batteries, light, cable.
Year: 2003-2010. There are several versions of the immersive interactive installation, two have been presented for this website, light of heart #2 and light of heart #4
Artist statement
The basis of light of heart was founded on the exploration of childhood experiences of dislocation and the separation from my mother. I have used this experience as a focal point to create an immersive interactive installation that use the body and biological rhythms to locate a sense of presence and stability. By exploring the notion of presence I aim to create a positive and centered experience. “Take this very instant, now, and think of it as all there is of time. Nothing can reach you here out of the past, and it is here that you are completely absolved, completely free.[1]”
I wanted to explore the notion of presence within a structure that would not be an obvious personal investigation and have used performance and live art strategies that encourage audience participation. As a way to locate presence I began to investigate internal rhythms that sustain life and focused on the heart. Our mother’s heart is the first thing we hear whilst developing in the womb. In all cultures the heart holds great symbolism, in Mexican culture the mother’s heart is seen as soft, generous and full of protection. In China it is thought to be a source of intelligence, where the spirit resides, in Judaism the “[2]seat of life, symbolizing unity” and in the West the heart is the site of all emotions, particularly love.
light of heart is an investigation into ways of embodying presence on a collective and individual level. What does it mean to be present in our bodies? How does it feel to be focused on the moment? What effect do we have on people surrounding us?
This interactive installation invites the audience to hear, see and feel their own and others heart rhythms as a devise to locate a sense of presence and stability. When viewers participate with the work, their heartbeats are amplified through the room. Solenoids attached to the edge of the water filled satellite dish transmit the rhythm of the heartbeats, creating palpitations in wave form that move as light ripples across the gallery wall. When two or more people interact with the work it is possible to see the heart rhythms weave over one another to form varied patterns. When five people interact, a pulsating star formation is created.
light of heart requires you to bring the work to life.
1 Pick up a heart object and place to your heart, (left side on chest).
2 Hear, and watch your heart rhythm being projected onto the galley wall.