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Computer pioneer Charles Babbage suggested that the air surrounding us is a “vast library” containing every sound, motion and word spoken. Two hundred years later, “Atmospheric Memory” explores this idea at a moment when perfect recollection is one of the defining conditions of our digital life, and the air that we breathe has become a battleground for the future of our planet.

“Atmospheric Memory” uses new interactive artworks to transform vibrations in the atmosphere into something visitors can see, hear and even touch. The exhibition’s works include a voice-controlled fountain where spoken words momentarily hang in the air as water vapour; a room with over 3000 different channels of natural and unnatural sounds; a voice-controlled light beacon, and the world’s first 3D printed speech bubble. On view are also original artifacts from the XIX Century including prototypes of the Analytical Engine, Edison’s first phonograph, and a first edition of Babbage’s treatise.

“Atmospheric Memory” asks was Babbage right? Can we rewind the air to recreate long lost voices? And if so, whose would we want to hear?

An array of ‘Atmospheric Machines’ mines the air for turbulence caused by speech, then transform it into trails of vapour ripples on water, epic 360 degree projections. The exhibition has also included educational programming and artist talks.

For the original version of “Atmospheric Memory” at the Manchester International Festival in 2019, the work was staged in a bespoke chamber structure made of 56 shipping containers placed in the Science Museum. Charles Babbage’s prototype of the Analytical Engine, the first programmable computer, was on view.

For the 2021 version at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, local academics and activists approached the critical context of enslavement and climate justice in the context of technological advances native to the region like the first Virtual Reality Helmets.

For the last version, at Powerhouse Ultimo Museum in Sydney, the artworks were shown alongside original artifacts from the XIX Century including prototypes of the Analytical Engine, Edison’s first phonograph, a first edition of Babbage’s treatise, and included collaboration with indigenous curators, artists and composers.

Supported by: The Government of Canada

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