NOWs: The Data of the Heart by Sarah Rechberger

31 May - 01 June 2019 / Nows

The Data of the Heart

Installation by Sarah Rechberger

Volkstheater, Weißer Salon

Neustiftgasse 1

1070 Vienna

The installation The Data of Heart makes the movements of audience members heart visible. Heart rate in beats per minute (bpm) is transmitted externally to the artwork by a sensor, facilitating a new form of communication and interaction.

This direct experience turns the physical body into a place where light, information, movement and space intersect. In the digital age, the transmission of light, or electricity and information plays a key role. This transmission is not linear: similar to our heartbeats, it takes a pulsing, wave-like form (alternating current, binary code).

In the installation, a straight beam of light is bent into a curve on all sides. The heart is not only an efficient mechanical pump. It is a location of empathy, emotional connection and direct communication. This living impulse connects us all – regardless of ethnic origin, gender, age or religion – including other forms of life such as animals. Even the planet earth has a heartbeat. Its magnetic field constantly pulsates to its own rhythm.

31 May 2019, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm

01 June 2019, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm

Free admission