SKYLUM, 2012

Andrew Kearney - London, UK

Installation

This project fuses human movement and electrical light – one natural, the other man-made – in a way that transforms the local landscape and the cultural activity within. Suspended in the 10-story, 10,000 square foot atrium of the CBC building, SKYLUM is an inflatable that responds through dynamic interactive illumination – a changing light-score composed of movement, created by the proximity and behaviour of people around the artwork.  The installation combines elements of theatricality, performance and human interaction to explore how they can be brought together within the built environment and, in so doing, transform the everyday into the extraordinary.

Relying on activity within the vaulted Philip Johnson architecture and cultural hub, SKYLUM can be viewed and engaged by Scotiabank Nuit Blanche visitors from various vantage points, creating a new pulsing heart of the space. The combination of public participation and the light-score sampled from everyday movement creates an engaging, interactive artwork that visitors can relate to in many ways. Through the interplay of light, movement and architecture, the atmospheric installation offers the possibility of experiencing public space in a new light.

Andrew Kearney resides in London, UK. Exhibitions include IMMA, Camden Arts Centre, Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff, The Lighthouse, Glasgow, MoDa, London, and Limerick City Art Gallery. Kearney has produced site-specific works for Heathrow Airport, Wexford Opera House, and Tate Britain. Awards include Barclays Young Artist (1992), PS1 Studios (1992), Art Council Ireland (1992-8, 2007), Art Council England (2004), Culture Ireland (2005), AHRC (2005-8). He is an artist mentor for the Plug-In Summer Programme in Winnipeg in 2012.

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CBC Building, Barbara Frum Atrium, 250 Front Street West

This project is indoors.