Mercurius - The Case of Hedy Lamarr

2026 Legacy Futures Award Finalist

Jul 22

Suzueri

Artwork Description:

This installation examines the historical invisibility of women’s scientific contributions through the life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, using Visible Light Communication (VLC) as both a conceptual and technical medium. In 1942, Lamarr and composer George Antheil patented a “Secret Communication System” based on frequency-hopping—a precursor to wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Despite this achievement, mid-century society consumed Lamarr as a glamorous film star, leaving her technical contributions unrecognized for decades. The installation consists of forty light bulbs embedded with VLC technology, each transmitting audio fragments from Lamarr’s films, interviews, and newsreels. Visitors carry handheld receivers with solar cells that convert modulated light into sound. As they navigate the environment, they “tune in” to Lamarr’s voice hidden within the illumination. Each source emits different fragments, and the spatial composition shifts with the audience’s movement, transforming the gallery into a whispering communication network. By exposing the normally imperceptible transmission of VLC, the work reframes the physical infrastructure of communication media as a speaking subject of historical memory. The project critically reflects on how the historiography of communication technology has systematically marginalized women’s contributions. Interpreting Lamarr’s life—consumed during her prime as “the most beautiful woman in the world” and posthumously celebrated as the “mother of Wi-Fi”—the project reimagines her as a manifestation of Mercurius, the Roman messenger god. By turning communication media itself into the narrator, the work reconstructs the overlooked legacy of women whose technical ingenuity has long been marginalized within the history of technology.