Martin Messier: Impulse

Audiovisual installation Impulse by Martin Messier proposes a poetic analogy with a technological twist to the functioning of the brain, in the form of the circulation of energy rendered visible by the paths of light travelling between one panel and the other.

Impulse is a suspended work of five juxtaposed parts. Each part is made up of two metal panels linked to each other by eight wires that light up in a computerized sound and light program. Keeping to the cerebral metaphor, the luminous influx spreads through the metallic structure, producing captive energy. The wires linking the panels act as the axons and the space in between as the synaptic gap.

The whole work creates an erratic and intermittent choreography that has an electrifying effect, amplifyng spectators’ sensorial systems. Not only is their vision engaged, but their hearing as well – thanks to the synchronization with sound – and, finally, their entire bodies through the effect of polysensorial propagation. In Impulse, the influx which normally responds to a stimulus encoded by the brain becomes a stimulus in itself.