Pulse Voronoi

Imagine a flawless cube made out of crystal, measuring exactly one cubic metre: it might not get noticed due to its transparency and minimum number of facets to reflect light. Visually, this cube could be mistaken for being nothing, something that is not there. Now imagine that, due to an inexplicable "big bang" starting at its centre, the cube explodes into 7,000 unique shards expelled in all directions. The installation "Pulse Voronoi" proposes a walk through the resulting cloud of crystals, shortly after the blast. The shards of crystal are all around the same size but they have a plethora of facets created by a "Voronoi diagram", a mathematical pattern which describes many natural formations of facets, from geology to astronomy. If time were to rewind all the shards of crystal could be returned to build the perfect cube again, like a metaphor of the uniqueness of each galaxy in the universe that can trace back its existence to the cosmological big bang.

The crystals are suspended in the room, like frozen in time, each with a warm light that glimmers rhythmically. In this “Chamber of Wonder”, each crystal is illuminated with the recorded heartbeat of a different participant from the past. Five pulse sensors placed around the room detect visitors' heartbeats using photoplethysmography, a computer vision system that can detect heart rates by looking for small variations of the coloration of skin as blood flows through the hand. When a new heartbeat is detected, gradually the crystals nearby start pulsing at the same rate, and you can hear the heartbeat's sound. As soon as the hand is removed from the sensor the new heartbeat recording is stored, replacing the oldest heartbeat in the group of 7,000. In this way, the project is a memento mori, a reminder that our heart will only be in the room for a limited time.

General info

Spanish name:
Voronoi de Corazonadas
Year of creation:
2024
Technique:
7000 different crystals designed with a 3D Voronoi diagram, LED filaments, computers, custom-made light controllers, ARTnet DMX interface, custom-made photoplethysmography sensors, 3D printed parts, CNC aluminium plates, software written in OppenFrameworks.
Dimensions:
18 x 13m
Edition:
1 Edition

Exhibitions


Credits

  • Electronics & software: Stephan Schulz, Najeeba Ahmed
  • Production: Tim Belliveau, Benoit Soucy, Emily Green, Steven Hoffart, William Sutton, Gabriel Rizzotti, Jade Séguéla, Lauria Clarke, Roy Macdonald.
  • Swarovski Team: Carla Rumler, Birgit Schönegger, Christian Kleinbauer, Daniel Schweiger, Darko, Markus Danzl, Michael Pichler, Roland Muigg.

Bibliography