Claudia Bueno’s immersive light and sound experience, Pulse, began to take form after the Venezuela-born light artist visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Mesmerized by what she saw, Bueno took photo after photo, zooming in on microorganisms in Yellowstone’s thermal pools and becoming fascinated by the patterns and strange textures she saw.

Bueno then drew and painted patterns from molecular geometry, cellular growth, algae, seaweed, coral, and more onto paper. Through experimentation, she figured out how to transform the 2D patterns into 3D moving images. To help realize her vision, she invited local artists to her Idaho studio. Over the course of eight months, each dot and line of Pulse was hand-painted by Bueno and her team onto 60 glass panels, a repetitive, meditative undertaking that Bueno says turned her studio into a shared healing space.

As seen in the detail clips above, hand-painted organic designs on multiple layers of glass create a sense of movement and life. Images courtesy of the artist.

Now installed at the Las Vegas location of Meow Wolf, Pulse is a tribute to life, Bueno says. When illuminated, the intertwining white lines appear to pulse and move like living organisms, allowing visitors to experience the slow oscillations found in nature. “My hope,” Bueno says, “is that Pulse brings visitors back to that feeling of coming home that arises when we’re able to go beyond our individual selves and connect to a much bigger expression of life.”

claudiabueno.com | @claudiabuenoart

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