Recorders by Raphael Lozano-Hemmer is an immersive show which invites the viewer to participate at the first opportunity, as soon as you walk through the door. The first piece, Pulse Index invites the viewer to insert their finger into a hole which photographs their fingerprint and records their pulse rate. The fingerprint is then displayed with all the previous participants and becomes part of the work. This immediately involves the viewer and they in turn become a part of something which could not exist without them. This also makes you think more closely about our fingerprints. How they are all unique to ourselves and how they are used to identify us, perhaps not always in a good way especially with talks about ID cards to increase security.
For me the most visually striking and involving work was the Pulse Room, at first the continuous flashing at the different rates is a bit of an assault on the eyes, but after spending a few minutes in there it becomes surprisingly soothing and relaxing. The flashes made me think of all the other participants and how even though they were set in a wide empty space the people who had contributed to the work seemed to be an invisible presence. This was because the pulse beats made me think of the one vital sign that people look for when determining if someone is alive or not. The difference in the intensities also made focus on the individuals and what was it about them that had made some lights so bright.
Overall i found Recorders very interesting as I have never been to see installation art that was so interactive and dependent on public participation and this has inspired me to think of ways that I could involve people in works and use space as part of a piece. I felt it raised interesting questions about the use of technology which permeates our lives and which we don't usually notice.
