Parade

An interactive art installation born out of the collaboration between interaction design studio Dpt. and ceramic artist Laurent Craste.

A coarse wooden structure confronts us in the exhibition space. In this relic, which appears to have once been a sumptuous interior, remain only two porcelain vases; limp, slumped, exhausted, as having been forgotten there a long time ago. From the top of the structure hangs a work light, dangling under our noses and dimly illuminating the desolate scene.

Visitors are encouraged to swing the suspended light, which causes the shadows cast by the vases to come alive on the wall, swaying to the rhythm of the movement. With time, the vases become aware of each other, and a relationship forms between them. The tone of the swings will determine if a combat or dance scene unfolds in front of the audience.

Much like shadow theatre, Parade presents the fantastic spectacle of the vase silhouettes which, in a tragicomic ballet, try to regain their original form, their past glory.

Credits

Exhibitions

Press

Parade is an interactive art installation conceived by ceramist Laurent Craste and digital agency Dpt. for the Chromatic festival in Montreal. At first glance the piece looks rather mundane: two misshapen porcelain vases sit atop a pedestal inside a wood cube, lit from above by an industrial light. But move the light and suddenly the magic happens as shadows projected from the vases animate to life. What a fun piece.

– Dancing Shadow Sculptures – This is Colossal, May 30 2014.

You know how to turn crooked vases into an interesting art installation that remind us of Beauty and the Beast’s singing pots and candlesticks? We’d like to say magic, but since we don’t live in a Disney movie, the right answer is motion tracking and real-time 3D rendering.

– Computer trickery makes these shadows dance – Engadget, Jun 5 2014.