Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer presents 7,000 different crystals created by dividing a cubic metre of pure crystal with a "Voronoi geometry", a pattern that occurs in minerals, foams, stars, and many other natural formations. Each suspended crystal is unique but complementary, so it is possible to reassemble all of them like a 3D puzzle to reconstruct the original cube.

Inside each crystal is a small light filament that shimmers at various levels of brightness: these are tuned to the heart rate of a visitor from the past. So as you traverse the room you are surrounded by the vital signs of the past 7,000 visitors.

To add your own heartbeat to the installation, hold the palm of your hand steady 10 cm under one of the curved-tube sensors in the room. As the system detects your pulse, you will hear it, and gradually the crystals around you will start to glimmer to your heart rate. As you remove your hand from the sensor a single crystal will remain brighter than all the others, this is where your new recording is located, having erased the oldest one in the room. With new recordings erasing the oldest ones, the project is a memento mori, reminding us that life is ephemeral and fragile.

Please do not touch the crystals as they are electrified.

The Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer was born in Mexico City in 1967. He is one of the world’s most renowned artists working in the medium of electronic art. His interactive installations have been inspiring a wide audience since the mid-1990s. When using robotics, computer-controlled tracking, or telematic networks, the interaction between the work and the viewer is of central importance.