Digital Drapes
An Unofficial Installation
Introduction
I covered all of the windows of my top-floor apartment in a grid of programmable LED’s to put on a show as an unofficial LUMEN installation.
Summary
Why? Because I was travelling all summer and in the busyness of everything, I forgot about LUMEN until about two weeks before the show, and this is what I could put together in time.
In the end, six grids were created to continuously loop through a three minute long sequence at the corner of one of the busiest intersections in Waterloo, Ontario during the LUMEN Art + Light Festival.
Installation
Development
The development process included building out the grids and programming them side-by-side. They were tested in the windows only two days before the installation to ensure the visual effect was as expected. The arrangement of the grids during the program testing process created some cool shots.
Technicals
This installation utilizes 3,300 LEDs across six grids that are custom built to fit in each window of my apartment. A total of 250ft of PEX pipe was used to create the grids, each 5ft tall, with a combined length of 28ft when lined up side-by-side. A single wifi-enabled Arduino controlled the installation. Custom – as well as out-of-the-box – algorithms were used to create the lighting patterns across all of the windows.
Eight unique animation sequences, and seven custom transitions were created – including an introduction sequence that creates a visual of scanning and mapping the apartment windows before the show starts. The entire show runs for about three minutes from start to finish and loops continuously.
From idea, design, engineering, fabrication, and installation, this project was completed in just under two weeks.
Temporary Placement
This installation is currently looking for a temporary installation placement for the next 6-to-12 months. You can download a one-pager with more information about the installation and it’s requirements.
Special Thanks
This installation is possible thanks to the generous support of the following people:
Cedric Puddy,
Matt Bolger,
Ryan Rielly,
Mike Cloutier,
Scott Voss.