Invisible Threads are the Strongest Ties
A series of 30 beacons that each change colour and become brighter when they are closer together and dimmer when they are further apart will be available to Halifax residents during an evening activation as part of the Nocturne Festival on October 16, 2021.
There will also be an accompanying artist talk scheduled for Oct 14th at 5PM at the BMO Community Room at the Halifax Public Library.
Anonymity and distance can often characterize the ways in which we move through physical spaces, daily routines, and behaviours. However, by elevating an element of chance connection with others during such tasks, there is potential to amplify the connection or curiosity of others with whom we share space, interact, and form a community.
Invisible Threads are the Strongest Ties aimed to enhance the intersection of strangers as a means to disrupt the patterns in which we exist and amplify the moments that may otherwise be lost in the repetition and routine; to create curiosity about community and those that we share our communal spaces and routines with, and to acknowledge chance (situated-ness and temporality of interaction) and the creation of varied experience in its retelling.
A series of 30 beacons that each change colour and become brighter when they are closer together and dimmer when they are further apart will be available to Halifax residents during an evening activation as part of the Nocturne Festival on October 16, 2021.
Participants will have the opportunity to keep a beacon with them as part of their evening as they explore the Nocturne Festival. As the beacons move around, they communicate with each other and respond to the proximity and movement of other beacons by becoming brighter when they are closer, and dimmer when they are further apart. The beacons also changed colour based on the number of beacons that are nearby. There were no other indicators of the proximity of other beacons. Participants only know of others’ locations or identities if they are seeing them in person. As such, participants only engage with others through the different colours and intensity of light from their beacon.
