'thermally speaking' light installation changes colors according to visitors' body heat

designed by leuwebb projects, ‘thermally speaking’ is a light installation that translates visitors’ body heat into a shifting curtain of light and color. the project uses thermography and infrared measuring instruments to reveal body energy in three-dimensional space through experiential illumination. the responsive installation transformed toronto’s fort york visitor center for ‘nuit blanche 2019’, providing a glimpse into a future of body temperature readings, creative data visualization and surveillance fields.

all images by doublespace photography

together with mulvey & banani lighting, leuwebb projects created the ‘thermally speaking’ light installation as a way to reveal visitors’ body heat in three-dimensional space through experiential illumination. placed at toronto’s fort york visitor center, the public art project invited audiences to move through, over and around the ramp of the visitor center both as observers and subjects of observation, participants in dialogue with the phenomena around them.

the light installation uses thermography and infrared measuring instruments to uncover the different body temperatures of those passing by it. thermal imaging cameras relayed and translated the heat energy of visitors into a shifting curtain of light, animating the channel glass façades of the existing building.

project info:

name: thermally speaking

artist/designer: leuwebb projects with mulvey & banani lighting inc.

location: toronto, ontario, canada

client: city of toronto, nuit blanche

project manager: stephen kaye (mulvey & banani lighting inc.)

design team: christine leu, alan webb (leuwebb projects)

collaborators engineers: paul boken, sepideh nabaee, citylightsto

lighting designer: mulvey & banani lighting inc.