from dust till dawn
Installation for Empty Urban Spaces

'Dietmar Offenhuber Dietmar Offenhuber / 'Markus Decker Markus Decker

The dust and atmosphere of empty urban spaces constitute the medium of interaction in this initial experimental setup. A grid of laser lines just above the ground produces an initially invisible, contiguous light surface. Objects and particles that break through this surface—for instance, dust, cigarette smoke or larger objects-are highlighted by the laser and become visible as a surface or an outline. The outlines and dust patterns are registered, and an XY-grid synthesizer turns their two-dimensional movements into dust pattern sounds. Each step a visitor takes—indeed, visitors' mere physical presence-sets the air into motion and causes dust to swirl up. What this actually represents is a fragile interaction medium that is exceedingly difficult to control, and one that eliminates the non-binding aspect from the concept of tangible media. We strongly advise against wearing clothes that would be adversely affected by contact with dirt.

Translated from German by Mel Greenwald

In cooperation with servus.at; Thanks to Manfred Grillnberger and KunstRaum Goethestrasse