The curtains have yet to be fully lifted off the still-renovating Museum of Contemporary Art, but from now until February, there’s a fascinating preview amid the construction. It features one of world’s greatest electronic artists, but he can’t do it without your help.

“Recorders”, by Mexican-born and Montreal-trained artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, is all about installations built around the participation of exhibit-goers. Inspired by animatronics and full-motion video games, he uses modern technologies like motion detection, face recognition and robotics, which interact with you and your fellow art-wanderers. If you haven’t yet enjoyed your 15 minutes of fame, come and get it.

In Pulse Room (pictured), you’ll witness a sculpture of 100 lightbulbs, each of which use a sensor to flash at the rhythm of a particular attendee’s heart rates – so for a bit of extra fun, down a double ristretto before you come in. One of the artist’s two new instalments, Tape Recorders, uses robotic measuring tapes (Terminator meets The Renovators?) that record how long you stay in each part of the room, and keep elevating until they scare you off, or cease to amuse you – whichever comes first.

Lozano-Hemmer is one of those art A-listers you’ve never heard of, until now. He’s got two BAFTA awards for interactive art in London, has been heralded by Wired magazine as artist of the year, received a Rockefeller fellowship, and stockpiled heaps of big-man-in-Europe awards that mean nothing to us, but probably make Art Almanac wonks squeal like tweens at a Lady Gaga concert.

All that, and you get to have a sneak peak at the new look of our city’s great contemporary arthouse. And, oh, yeah, the exhibit is free, so being on the cusp of modern creativity won’t put any dent into your future earnings.

Where: 140 George St, The Rocks
When: 16 Dec 2011 to 12 Feb 2012
Price: Free
Details: mca.com.au

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