Sarah Richter reviews 'Humanity's Unspoken Rhetoric: rAndom International', Wellcome Collection, London
27/05/2011
Still from 'Reflex' installation
by rAndom International
Humanity's Unspoken Rhetoric | rAndom International, Wellcome Collection, London
Review by Sarah Richter for Aesthetica Magazine Blog
Decorating Euston Road in the windows of the Wellcome Collection is an installation by rAndom International entitled Reflex. The light installation, which inhabits two large sets of windows, is composed of evenly spaced brass rods adorned with specially designed LED chips and is based on an algorithm that emulates collective decision making found in large groups of animals, such as ants or birds. All identical, the lights react to passers-by on the street and in a way record our migratory patterns as well.
As one walks by the Wellcome Trust’s windows, the installation is seemingly unassuming, but as soon as one swiftly walks by the piece, the lights gracefully twinkle and rush swiftly down from post to post trailing behind the pedestrian. In this sense, everyone who passes by the installation, whether they want to or not, are participating in the art. Without the pedestrian, the work wouldn’t work, wouldn’t be activated or have any artistic presence and thus the viewer is, in a sense the art work... [read the full article on the Aesthetica Magazine Blog].
Image: Still from an installation by rAndom International in the windows of the Wellcome Trust headquarters on the Euston Road in North London.
Further information is available at their website rAndom International. The installation Reflex will be on display at Wellcome Collection until April 2012: Wellcome Collection.
Sarah Richter is a candidate for the MA in Art History at Richmond the American International University in London.
Aesthetica engages with contemporary art, contextualising it within the larger cultural framework. For further information, please visit the Aesthetica Magazine website.
Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/1156.aspx
