Birds in Flight -- a light installation

"Fly Light," a light installation by Design Drift of Amsterdam is something I've never seen before. It was designed with the lives and movement of birds in mind.


"Fly Light is a collection of 160 light infused glass tubes hung at various heights in a swirled configuration. The arrangement is scenic enough when dark, but when someone approaches, the individual bulbs flicker and dash in a pattern that resembles the waxing and waning of birds in flight."


When I find something considered art, what draws me in is the visual alone. What keeps me is the idea behind it. I think that "Fly Light" is extremely intriguing visually. It reminds me of a trip to a museum called Mass Moca in Massachusetts, where I saw an installation using clear discs of different sizes hung in patterns throughout an entire room. As a photographer all I wanted to do was photograph it, and I did. I would love to photograph "Fly Light."


my photograph at Mass Moca:

"The 160 lights are programmed with a bird’s “digital DNA” and equipped with ultrasonic sensors, which means they illuminate in random sequences depending on the “intruder’s” proximity. The result is a spontaneous display of phosphorescent evasion and approach as, like birds, the individual lights must stray from the threat without falling off the back. The most alluring aspect of the installation is its unpredictability. The lights alight in a non-repetitive way, taking their cues from the density of the approaching mass (meaning a more dramatic response for more visitors, or an especially frantic reaction when flanked on multiple sides)."


Fly Light