Heart Bloom

Installation Heart Bloom by Dutch artist Rogier Arents measures heartbeat and visualises its data in the shape of a flower using a plotter pen. The rhythm of pen and its ‘path’ are linked to a physical source, for example, a heart rate monitor and creates a new way of visualising personal health information. Current image culture veers towards visualising things that can’t be observed directly. Image itself has also undergone a lot of changes – it has become a dynamic system that can change depending on each situation. This work has been used in communication with children suffering from heart disease, helping them to hear and sense their own heartbeat whilst observing flowers that ‘bloom’ with each beat of their heart.

Curator: Agnese Baranova (LV)

Organizer: Riga Photography Biennial in cooperation with RIXC Center for New Media Culture

Image: View from installation Heart Bloom. Photo: Bin Yu