Light Memory is a public installation that explores concepts of varying levels of ‘self-presence’ and the distortion of memory through the interactive choreography of light on the surrounding environment. The project translates the motion and articulation of the observer into a light-based representation of their body schema in real time. The recognition and manipulation of these light patterns by the audience is described as a realisation of self-presence, such that the environment reflects the consciousness of the observer without being conscious itself. In an ambient state, the lights may reveal the movement and presence of previous participants creating a distorted representation or ‘memory’ of the space and habitation.
The work is part of a series of kinetic light installations that explore levels of self-presence: ‘Proto self-presence’, relating to the representation of body schema; ‘Core self-presence’, relating to the emotion provoked by the interaction between the self and the other; and ‘Extended self-presence’, relating to the creation of a personal identity based on memory. By layering the memories of the audience movement over time, the installation builds a continuum of infinitely varying patterns and perceptions of the self.
Image: Light Memory, by Jung Lim
