Memo

“Memo” was an art installation by Robin Woern that was shown from January 25 to April 14, 2024 in the Oktogon of the Kunsthalle of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden (HfBK Dresden). In Memo, a diffuse-sounding voice recording is transmitted into space by means of laser light. The installation consisted of five steles that were part of an optical free-space communication. The work is about the contrast between the transience and apparent permanence of memories of the deceased.

A transmitter emits a laser that is modulated by the audio signal of the voice recording. The light is scattered into glass cubes filled with water, and the data transmission becomes visible as a beam. Finally, the laser hits a receiver that makes the recording audible. The laser projector was custom-built by LaserAnimation using the LA.toolbox laser software. For Robin Woern, the beam precision and the beam power of the laser projector were of particular importance. The artist found the collaboration with LaserAnimation Sollinger inspiring and was able to gain important experience for his future artistic work. We would like to thank Robin Woern for providing the images (Copyright: Niklas Thran).