/turn an alleyway into a musical instrument
//story
A darkened alleyway is the last place you’d want to meet a friend.
Down one Vancouver alleyway, however, a grid of 35 shimmering lights shines down from an overpass — enticing people to take a curious look down the typically utilitarian corridor.
Working alongside HCMA Architecture+Design and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, we created Field — an instrument that is played with the whole body. Located in the newly activated alleyway Ackery’s Alley, Field is a permanent public art installation.
Paying homage to the Orpheum Theatre next door, a popular music venue for symphonies, Field responds with orchestral tracks as people walk under the overpass. Each beam of light reacts with a different piece of music and the hue of each light changes depending how a person moves.
Field adds a playful element to Vancouver, a place where people now congregate to make beautiful music together.//how it works
Field has a grid of 35 sensors and lights that are connected wirelessly and activate instrumental sounds by the presence of a person under each light. A single step transforms the alley, the lights changing from white to colour. Each of the lights plays a unique orchestral instrument, orchestrated by composer Adam Lastiwka. The symphony becomes more dynamic, depending on how fast people step under Field.
/artworks
/all
/architecture
/branded
/light
/museums
/music bands
/performance
/public art
/sound
super puff
noise
parasol
colouring app
helix
samsung graffiti
OH!
summit
bubbles
field
halo
hako
fireflies
winged
marshmallow…
shine with pride
alveoli
array
mini halo swarm
zygote stageset
anima
experience…
illuminate…
pulse
sound clouds
jelly swarm
cocoons
mist
seed of truce
picidae chorus
mikado
boxcam
imsound
line segments
imaginary friends
stalagmites
visitor
pixmob zygotes
voice it table
LED bottle wall
megaclouds
starburst
mo-cap graffiti…