CONCEPT

The bridge on new street might be the most scary one in the city centre: it is dark, there are birds, not a lot of traffic and the train passing on top, shaking the floor and the walls. It contrasts completely with the atmosphere on top of Calton hill: the view on the castle, the monument recalling the past of Edinburgh, people strolling on benches...

The concept of this installation is to kept the space very dark until you start walking under it. At this point, you are immersed into the famous monuments and sites of Scotland, all along, following each of your steps. In addition, when a train is passing on top light birds would fly on the ceiling, linking what is happening above the bridge with what people experience under it.

On each step the contour of Calton hill will appear as foot print.

The space would be transformed into a luminous journey around Scotland, recalling Calton Hill: symbol of the Scottish republic.

PROCESS

I started with blue light traveling on the ceiling, the walls, and the floor of the bridge, responding to the trains passing on top, the people walking under and the cars. Then I tried with yellow light only on the ceiling lighting when the trains were passing on top. These 2 ideas responded to the character of the bridge: the bridge was left dark when nothing is happening and revealing something when people were coming. But it didn’t respond to the symbolic of the hill: symbol of the Scottish republic. At this point I decided to light the famous monuments and sites of Scotland.

After researching on what technologies could allow me to light the wall of the bridges interactively, I chose to use a combination of Mnemosyne and Lightfader.

Mnemosyne has been installed under a bridge in a dicey Oslo neighborhood with great success: the surveying light map now tracks individuals while illuminating what was once a dark space. Moreover, vandalism in the area has declined, since the local residents take pride in their own interactive public art installation.

The results are LEDs panels installed on the all the surface of the bridge. The represent some of the most important and iconic monuments of Scotland when someone is walking under the bridge. On the floor it is the contours of Calton Hill which will appear on each step, thanks to the Lightfader floor. Finally when a train is passing on top, birds appear flying on the ceiling: they would be created individually to avoid to have to cover the ceiling with LED panels.