23 December 2012

Voyage: Interactive Light Installation by Aether & Hemera

London’s Canary Wharf has become home to a gorgeous fleet of three hundred boats which can be controlled by the mobile phones of onlookers. They may look like origami boats but they are not made from paper. Each boat is lit via a wireless network which people can join from their phone and then change the color of the lights.

Voyage was created by Aether & Hemera, a duo who joined forces in 2006. They comprise of Gloria Ronchi who is a light artist and media architect Claugio Benghi. The aim of the piece is to enable viewers to navigate with their imagination to wherever they wish to be while making the lines between the real and the hyper-real almost indistinguishable.

I think this installation is quite gorgeous – its simplicity is at the heart of its capacity to transport you on a voyage. For me, it was back to my childhood when I used to make paper boats which looked just like these.

As well as appealing to the kid inside, Voyage also fascinates me because of its interactive nature and although the tech is beyond me - in as much as I have no clue about how it was set up – it’s a marvelous idea. And beautifully executed.

Voyage is available for your viewing pleasure until 13 February 2013.

First Image Credit Flickr User JulesFoto, who we thank for his permission to use his photographs.  JulesFhoto retains copyright to his photographs used in this feature - please do not reproduce.