janet echelman and google weave an interactive sculpture in the sky

janet echelman and google weave an interactive sculpture in the sky
all photos by ema peter courtesy of studio echelman

artists janet echelman and aaron koblin –creative director at google’s creative lab — have collaborated to create ‘unnumbered sparks‘, a monumental interactive sculpture in the sky, billowing silently overhead visitors to downtown vancouver, canada. the ethereal net spanning 745 feet between buildings shimmers with a vibrantly colored glow, punctuating the urban landscape as it floats above ground. dynamic digital characteristics embedded within the aerial mesh define an engaging relationship with the viewer. visitors with smartphones and tablets are able to paint vivid beams of light across the sculpture at a massive scale: small movements made on phones become nearly hundred foot long trails on its surface. ‘when you look at the sculpture, you’re looking at a web browser.’ the team explains ‘the lighting on the sculpture is actually a single fullscreen google chrome window over 10 million pixels in size.’ choreographed by the public in real time through their mobile devices, the soaring form becomes a crowd-controlled visual on a massive canvas. ‘unnumbered sparks’, which premiered at the TED conference’s 30th anniversary, can be seen in vancouver until march 22nd, before it travels to other cities around the globe.

the floating mesh is activated by viewers on their mobile devices below

detail of the intricately woven fibers

illuminated by night, the floating form attaches to existing city structures

by day, ‘unnumbered sparks’ silently billows overhead

floating in the sky above downtown vancouver, canada

colorful netting punctuates the urban landscape

details of the woven fibers

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