4.09 E
Melatonin room
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The Melatonin Room is a physiological architecture that acts on space itself by transforming its electromagnetic composition. This room is defined as a hormonal stimulation space. Two climates are produced in alternation. The first is defined by the emission of electromagnetic rays at 509 nm with an intensity of 5000 lux, which suppresses the production of melatonin by the pineal gland. This hormone, when secreted, furnishes data related to fatigue and sleep. The space becomes a physically motivating, chemically exciting place. The second climate is produced by the diffusion of ultraviolet rays, which, by contrast, promote endogenous melatonin production. The Melatonin Room is a nonrepresentational space that reduces the medium between the transmitter and the receiver to the greatest possible extent and acts on the chemical mechanisms of things inter se. It works on the new forms of communication, engendered by the biotechnologies and genetics that have come to join analog, poetic, esthetic and rhetorical communication.
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, located in the brain. This gland reacts to the light information received by the retina. Melatonin secretion normally occurs at night, since it is activated by the absence of light. Little melatonin is secreted in the daytime. In 1980, A. Lewy, T.A. Wehr and F.K. Goodwin demonstrated that exposure to intense light inhibits human melatonin production ( Science 210, 1980 ). In 1998, G.C. Brainard established that maximum melatonin suppression is achieved with green light having a wavelength of nearly 509 nm. In contrast, ultraviolet rays impinging on the eyes and skin are the type of rays that have the least effect on melatonin secretion ( American Psychiatric Press, 1998 ).
The secretion of melatonin gives the body and the mind information related to sleep and fatigue. It is linked to circadian rhythms and biological clocks. It is a factor in puberty and sperm production in human beings. The Melatonin Room constitutes research toward the electromagnetic characterization of space and its physiological impact on human metabolism./
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Melatonin room
Installations
- D! Club, Lausanne, Switzerland, March 16, 2000
- Fondation Claude Verdan, Lausanne, Switzerland, August 3 to September 30, 2000
- SF-Moma, San Francisco, USA, March 3 to July 12, 2001
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Décosterd & Rahm, associés
Collaboration : Jérôme Jacqmin, Grégory Marot