Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s immersive audiovisual installation Climate Parliament will be celebrated with a public reception on September 24, from 5:30–7:30pm (CDT) at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The work features 481 pendant speaker lights, each containing a unique voice recording of a leading scientist, scholar, activist, or student addressing the issue of climate change. Sited at the O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, visitors activate the work by walking beneath the installation, prompting the lights to illuminate and the corresponding speakers to play a recording. As many voices sound simultaneously, the piece creates complex aural patterns, similar to the white noise of crashing waves on a beach or wind rustling through a canyon.
Known for his interactive polyphonic light installations, Lozano-Hemmer continues to investigate the nature of human perception with his latest work, asking: “If we present a plethora of sound sources in an array, can we perceive the emergence of a new complexity beyond the expected cacophony? If so, can this mode of perception inspire new ways of thinking?”
Commissioned specifically for the O’Connor Building by the Moody Center for the Arts, Climate Parliament represents the first work by the artist to directly address the climate crisis. It reflects past and current research, both at Rice and around the world, inviting visitors to imagine the impact of our current actions on the future of people and the planet.
The Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University curates seasonal exhibitions presented in its gallery spaces, temporary interventions sited across campus, and oversees the acquisition and maintenance of Rice University’s public art collection. From James Turrell, Michael Heizer, and Sol LeWitt to Ursula von Rydingsvard, Carmen Herrera, and Odili Donald Odita, the Rice Public Art collection boasts an exceptional roster of artists, amplifying the core educational and research missions of the university in visible and inspiring ways.
To learn more, visit moody.rice.edu.