“Pulse Room“ by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s multisensory Pulse Room invites visitors to register their pulse on a sensor in the far corner of the room. It is transmitted to a light bulb, causing its wire filament to glow and flicker to the rhythm of the participant’s pulse. As successive visitors participate, the record of prior heartbeats is pushed farther across the grid, projecting an image of collective humanity that is both anonymous and communal. In addition to bringing people into relation with one another, the work also connects visitors to ubiquitous forms of information technology that conspire with networks around which identities are formed, societies are structured, and people are controlled. Visit the Pulse Room as part of the exhibition, What Is Left Unspoken, Love, on view through August 14th. Visit the High Museum: