LIFELAB

2012 by Beloff

The work LifeLab investigates the theme of population growth from an individual’s perspective by looking 75 years into the past and 75 years to the future:
Today, 2012, there are 3 persons for every person living in 1937. My mother was born in that year. 75 years to the future from today, in 2087, it is possible that there will be again 3 persons for every person existing today. My daughter will be 85 years in that year. The LifeLab installation uses clothing to discuss this situation.

The installation LifeLab consists of two parts; the clothes and the image-capture system. The clothes are created as an installation but they are also offered for audience to dress on. The installation includes a changing room where one can dress into the clothing and then photograph him-/herself with the camera set-up. The captured images are seen on the screen within a matrix of previously taken images. The images are stored online and after few days they can be seen and looked at on this website. In other words the work will gradually create an archive of images of people (in similar clothes) that presents a viewpoint to the population growth.

In 1937, 2 billion people - in 2012, almost 7 billion people - in 2087, potentially 13,5 billion people or more. This possibly means that if there was one person in 1937 in the future there will be 7 persons instead of one person.

The recent works of the artist Laura Beloff typically investigate humans and environment as a tightly interconnected entity. In this work the entity is composed of parts but cannot be reduced to them, everything is interconnected. Also the observers become an inextricable part of the whole through their participation. The work depicts the world seen as a complex compilation of relations and flows of things, concepts, humans, energy and matter.

2013

LifeLab 0.1. The installation LifeLab is extended every time it is exhibited in a new place. In 2013 it was extended by few new clothing items; red jacket, red gloves, red apron and white apron. Also the technical system was upgraded to have a better quality camera additionally to the webcam. LifeLab 0.1 is exhibited in Fiskars.