Recorders - Rafael Lozano Hemmer - Manchester Art Gallery

Recorders features various technologically inspired installations by Mexican Canadian electronic artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Each piece depends upon physical interaction from its viewer.

Visitors to the exibition "sign in" via a small metal hole in the wall in which you put your index finger and a large image of your fingerprint is shown on screen in front of you and your p

ulse is measured.

As we continue into the main room we see a circle of vintage style microphones under a spotlight. Well positioned this piece is inviting and is almost like a stage in the centre of the room. When speaking into the microphones (as the artist has very surely predicted that every visitor will do) you hear your own voice back very faintly, followed by someone else's recorded voice - a previous visitor to the exhibition. This has a ghostly sense as you realise that in this silent and nearly empty room your input, just like the voices you can hear, will not be discovered until you are long gone.

Empty your pockets - this piece was very much like an airport baggage scanner except clean cut and brightly lit. Any item placed on the conveyor belt was scanned and appeared as a projection with all the other items that had previously been scanned by other visitors, appearing as a pile of objects on the belt.

I believe the most time was spent collectively playing and interacting on this piece as it was fascinating to see items from your own pockets suddenly and permanently become part of the exhibition.

The pulse room was for me personally although highly technological, the most like what i consider to be artwork in this exhibition.

This room was lit by hundreds of hanging light bulbs each pulsing and representing a heartbeat, all different visitors to the exhibition. You can hold on to two metal rods at the end of the room and record your pulse to add to the collection.

The room was literally filled with the hearts of every person to visit. It was a beautiful sight to be seen and incredibly calming in atmosphere. I could have sat there for hours.

In conclusion, I found this exhibition very interesting and fun to visit and interact with. However, with the exclusion of the pulse room I felt that these pieces were more like something I would expect to see in Manchester's Science and Industry museum and reminded me more of something I would have enjoyed when i was younger as part of a school trip.

When visiting an art gallery I hope to leave feeling inspired to try something new with my photography and top be full of new ideas, unfortunately this was not the case when visiting this exhibition. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable trip and a lot of fun.