L.E.M.S - Life Extending Modular System

"L.E.M.S" is an immersive art installation that explores the relationship between humanity, nature, and technology.

Drawing inspiration from Martin Heidegger's The Question Concerning Technology and Leonardo da Vinci's illustration of the divine dodecahedron for Luca Pacioli's De Divina Proportione, the installation offers a meeting point between philosophical inquiry and artistic expression.

At its heart, L.E.M.S features twelve dodecahedron modules, each representing a vital facet of nature's essence. The modules are equipped with sensors responsive to human interaction - each one relying on visitors to provide the essential elements of light, water, and air. Nature's sustenance here is contingent on human presence and attention. Without it, the system remains inert.

The technological infrastructure of L.E.M.S acts as a life-giving conduit, embodying the intricate interconnectedness between humans, nature, and technology that Heidegger interrogates in his concept of the "standing reserve" - the condition in which modern technology orders nature into a resource, available and optimised on demand. Here that relationship is reversed: it is the technological structure that waits, that depends, that cannot sustain itself alone. Visitors are called upon to invest their time and presence, becoming stewards of this artificial ecosystem.

L.E.M.S challenges viewers to reflect on the consequences of their relationship with nature and technology. Through engagement and introspection, the installation prompts contemplation of our responsibility as custodians of a delicate and dependent world - and invites consideration of what a different relationship between human presence and artificial nature might look like.

Year: 2020

Materials: Wood, acrylic glass, electronics

Dimensions HxWxD: 250×250×250

Exhibited at Godsbanen and at Kunstcentret Silkeborg Bad.