Somewhere Between 540,412,598 and 579,858,773 Breaths is an attempt to link the action of breathing to the passage of time and by extension to our own mortality. The project takes the form of a large-scale video installation with 400 separate projectors. Each projector displays a looped 1-minute video depicting a human torso rising and falling as the individual breathes. The videos are projected at a dimension of 8’ x 4.5’ and are arranged side by side along the four walls of a large open room. In the center of the space lies an arrangement of 400 twin size beds. Visitors are invited to both view the videos and lie on the mattresses in the installation. The videos have no audio, and the audience is asked to remain silent while present.
The installation ceases once the torsos have collectively risen between 540,412,598 and 579,858,773 times (the number of breaths a male and a female take in a lifetime respectively*), which should occur within 2 and 3 months.
*These figures are estimates based on average human breathing rates (cited by Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology p.619) and the global life expectancy for both men and women (according to United Nations World Population Prospects 2012 Revision).
Somewhere Between 540,412,598 and 579,858,773 Breaths is an attempt to link the action of breathing to the passage of time and by extension to our own mortality. The project takes the form of a large-scale video installation with 400 separate projectors. Each projector displays a looped 1-minute video depicting a human torso rising and falling as the individual breathes. The videos are projected at a dimension of 8’ x 4.5’ and are arranged side by side along the four walls of a large open room. In the center of the space lies an arrangement of 400 twin size beds. Visitors are invited to both view the videos and lie on the mattresses in the installation. The videos have no audio, and the audience is asked to remain silent while present.
The installation ceases once the torsos have collectively risen between 540,412,598 and 579,858,773 times (the number of breaths a male and a female take in a lifetime respectively*), which should occur within 2 and 3 months.
*These figures are estimates based on average human breathing rates (cited by Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology p.619) and the global life expectancy for both men and women (according to United Nations World Population Prospects 2012 Revision).