'the heart archive' , 2010
mage © yasuhide kuge, courtesy naoshima fukutake art museum foundation.


'the heart archive', originally titled 'les archives du coeur' is a creative
endeavour by french artist christian boltanski. permanently installed on the island of
teshima in the seto inland sea,  the project showcases boltanski's collection of
heartbeat recordings captured since 2005 from thousands of people who have
previously visited the exhibition.

christian boltanski talks about 'the heart archive'

'the heart archive' , 2010
mage © yasuhide kuge, courtesy naoshima fukutake art museum foundation.


the archives are kept in a single story structure in front of the sea. through a computer screen,
visitors who enter the structure are provided with information about the heartbeats that
are being played in surrounding hallway rooms. these spaces are only illuminated by a
single light source, while the walls are covered with framed black panels of various sizes.
a secondary room allows users to search through the database holding all the archives of
heartbeats. finally, a tertiary space is allocated to those who would like to have their
own heartbeat recorded and subsequently become part of the exhibition.



'the heart archive' (2010).
image © yasuhide kuge, courtesy naoshima fukutake art museum foundation.


this gathering process is a continuation of boltanski's career-long examination of the issues
of death, memory, disappearance and loss. in doing so, he is assuming the role of ethnographer,
establishing a record of humanity and offering to immortalize all of us equally.