The Sydney Science Festival has just kicked off at the Powerhouse Museum where one of its key exhibitions has opened to the public. 18 installations that make up the exhibition 'atmospheric memory' use cutting edge technology to take visitors on a journey through history.
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00:00 What if every word that's ever been spoken remains suspended in the air around us?
00:10 What if a computer could reverse engineer those molecules and let us eavesdrop on conversations
00:16 of the past?
00:18 These questions were pondered by 19th century scientist Charles Babbage, and they are the
00:23 inspiration behind the Powerhouse Museum's exhibition, Atmospheric Memory.
00:28 The spirit of the project is, can we make contemporary art installations that try and
00:34 make evident the voices in the atmosphere?
00:37 What would it look like?
00:38 What would it sound like?
00:39 This is the exclusive presentation of the work in Australia, and we're very fortunate
00:43 to be premiering it for the communities of New South Wales and Sydney.
00:47 Here you can watch your voice travel across a ripple tank, conjure words from water vapour,
00:55 and listen as thousands of individual recordings pulse waves of sound overhead.
01:01 You can hear the sound of 300 birds, insects, also natural sounds like fire or water or
01:09 wind.
01:10 In transforming the atmosphere into something tangible, the works highlight its omnipresence
01:16 and fragility.
01:17 There is this kind of return to thinking about the atmosphere not as something that's neutral
01:23 and beautiful and poetic, it's that, but it's also the site for the current battles that
01:30 we have for the survival of the planet.
01:32 There are also warnings about the impact of mass surveillance.
01:36 Today each of us has a detailed digital footprint.
01:40 Our data is bought and sold, and artificial intelligence is an increasing part of our
01:46 everyday lives.
01:48 That question posed by Charles Babbage about whether we could retrieve the lost words of
01:53 the world now gives rise to a more ominous question.
01:57 Do we want to live in a world where nothing is ever forgotten?
02:00 For Rafael, the interactive element of the work is crucial.
02:05 It is only with the participation, with the implication of the viewer, that the project
02:11 has a meaning.
02:12 The exhibition opens to the public today and runs until November.
02:16 Ruby Cornish, ABC News.
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