by Maria Sofou
Canadian artists Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett teamed up to create CLOUD, a stunning installation that resembles a life-sized cloud, built from 6000 bright light bulbs and 1500 lbs of steel.
The installation is interactive as viewers are free to explore it and linger underneath it while they are the ones to light it up by turning on the bulbs! This beautiful experience for both participants and viewers may have started from Canada, but for the past two years has travelled all over the world: CLOUD has lightened up Russia, Portugal, Singapore, Israel, Netherlands, Czech Republic and more, celebrating hope and optimism, as its creators wish.
“The piece utilizes pull string switches and everyday domestic light bulbs, re-imagining their potential to catalyze collaborative moments and create an enveloping, experiential environment. As part of the process of building the sculpture, the artists collected burnt out bulbs from the surrounding community, forging an informal relationship with non-artists, reducing costs, and asking audiences to reconsider household items in an alternative context. During exhibition, viewers interact with CLOUD by initiating impromptu collaborations, working as a collective to animate “lightning” on the surface of the sculpture, turning the entire cloud on and off… On a more symbolic level, CLOUD relies on the universal language of environmental imagery – despite language barriers, cultural differences, and geographic distance, rain clouds are understood by people all around the world, ” CLOUD‘s creators explain.
Cloud in Canada
Cloud in Russia
Cloud in Prague
Cloud in Netherlands
Cloud in Singapore