Life inside the bubble, a proposal for the Amsterdam Light Festival '24/'25
CONCEPT & THEME
We have distilled two themes from the brief; the diverse city and the urban ritual. This urban ritual is the dynamic proces of groups of people that form the city. We have translated this into the abstraction of a bubble, bubbles have the same dynamics and they are a metaphor for somewhere safe, insulated - yet they are fragile, temporary, adapting and ever changing, like society. As bubbles are created they start shaping themselves forming a community, culture and boundaries. All together these bubbles form the diverse city Amsterdam has become over the past 750 years.
VISITOR EXPERIENCE
The sculpture is made up of several cylinders, some open, some closed. Within this, four types of light are used that represent the dynamics of each group. Light that is reflected and radiates outwards for an open group that cares about society. Light that beams inward and only illuminates the cylinder for an inverted group. Small cylinders with only the light of the underlying city for groups that feel more independent and individualistic. And light lines of blobs, free forms that connect cylinders for groups with mutual contacts and similarities. In addition, colors from the color palette of a bubble are used to make the distinction between the bubbles clear.
THE ROLE OF LIGHT
Essentially, four types of light are used. The first is the city, the city light is passed through the open bubbles. The second are the mirrors, these have edges of light and are the moving elements in the sculpture. The third are the closed bubbles, they shine inwards and create a color area. The fourth are the blobs, free forms executed as lines of light that connect bubbles.
THE TECHNICAL PRINCIPLE
The cylinders will be made of plastic bottels taken from the Amsterdam canals. These will be shredded in to material which can be used in 3D printers. The printed cylinders are stacked and interconnected to create a sculpture of between 7 and 9 meters long and 2 to 3 meters high. The cylinders are usually open, moving parts are used with a minimum, so that wind and different types of precipitation should not be a problem. The goal is to devise a system in the cylinders through which the necessary wiring can easily run in order to provide the lighting with their power needs
The design was a collaboration with my friend Scott Reavy.
