From February 23 until March 27 the installation Public Afterimage can be seen in the Atrium City Hall. This exhibition is part of the Royal Conservatoire’s 200th anniversary celebrations.

In HPSCHD (1969), John Cage imagined music as a living system—an immersive world of sound, image, machinery and chance. On 4 March, twenty bachelor’s and master’s students from the ArtScience Department of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague bring this idea to life in the Atrium with a performance of Postcard from Heaven. Twenty harpists play twenty harps, activating a light projection that gradually unfolds after the performance and subtly blends into the rhythms of public space of the Atrium.

The installation Public Afterimage echoes the persistence of vision, leaving an afterimage not only in what you see, but in how you observe and listen. Whereas HPSCHD overwhelms, Postcard from Heaven invites quiet attention. In a world shaped by control and prediction, Public Afterimage opens up space for chance, stillness and perception.