The installation is one of the three initial chapters of Once Upon Us, a composite arts project by the Immuto collective in collaboration with sound artist Alessandro Baldessari, choreographer Riccardo Buscarini and Professor Vardhman Rakyan from Queen Mary University of London.
The immersive sensory installation features layers of space and moving fabric which changes the light as visitors move within it. At the heart of the installation, a metal cube is continuously transmitting memories gathered from across the world. It is located in front of the Queen’s Building at the University’s Mile End campus.
Inspired by the latest epigenetics research on how memories could move across generations and how our choices influence genetic expression, the artists asked people if there was one single moment in their life that they would like to become their legacy. These stories became the music of the installation. Essentially the recordings are the transmissions of memories to future generations.
Visitors to the installation are invited to move, touch, listen and interact with the changing space, sound and light. According to the artists the installation “can be experienced as a metaphor for the dance that involves the present we are, the past we contain and the future we are creating.”
The project is part of London Festival of Architecture 2019 as well as the New Horizons in Genomics week at Queen Mary and explores how our choices shape our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.
Francesca Lando, artist and founder of Immuto said: “Creating a new immersive installation in collaboration with a scientist, a choreographer and a sound artist has been a very beautiful and enriching experience. In our research and practice, in different and complementary ways, we all deal with space and our different bodily perception of it. I am thankful that Queen Mary made this possible.”
Choreographer Riccardo Buscarini: “This project gave me the chance to take choreography out of the theatre context into what is a new and exciting territory of exploration.”
Sound artist Alessandro Baldessari said: “I would like to thank all who shared their vocal memories with us. They gave me the opportunity, and responsibility, to honour their voice and intention in my composition.”
Queen Mary launched its Arts and Culture strategy in November 2017 with the aim of developing the university as a world-leading centre of excellence in arts and culture within higher education.
Queen Mary is a major contributor to London’s diverse artistic and cultural landscape, and has built strong relationships with its local, national and international audiences through the arts.
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