Pulse Chandelier by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Pulse Chandelier2023

300 glass lightbulbs with 3000K LED filament, DMX controllers, custom-made photoplethysmography sensor, computer115 x 70 in / 292 x 178 cm

A “Pulse Chandelier” has three hundred Edison-shaped lights in polycarbonate or glass bulbs with 2700K LED filament inside. Each bulb softly glimmers to the heartbeat of a recording from the past. A photoplethysmography sensor is suspended and used as a light source beside the piece; when a hand is detected under this sensing light, the whole chandelier gradually pulses in sync with the participant’s heartbeat and records this new data, erasing the oldest recording in the array. The piece features a global dimmer so that the brightness can be easily controlled, and the piece can also be switched on and off with a standard light switch.