What is “LITtle circles?”
LIT (=backlit) + little (=small) circles. LITtle circles is a community art project where participants set the colour and texture of a backlit artwork. The artwork is an elevated cube measuring 1.2m on each side, which has slots and twisted paths that direct the circles to various locations on each face of the cube. Participants are invited to deposit the circles wherever they like and they will see and hear the circle roll down and set the colour for a particular object in the scene. We cleared the faces by removing a stick at the bottom causing the circles to crash down. The theme for the cube was a hidden garden which consisted of various New Zealand native plants and animals.
LITtle circles at Highlight: Carnival of Lights, 2019
LITtle circles was an installation in the Highlight: Carnival of Lights held in Central Lower Hutt on Labour Weekend, 25-28 October, 2019.
LITtle circles was set up beside the playground in Riddiford Gardens, Lower Hutt. This location worked very well because it was a kid-friendly installation. LITtle circles was open each of the nights from 8-11pm.
Check out these photos from the event. Some photos in the gallery below are © Copyright Amos Mann 2019. https://www.instagram.com/amos_mann/
The experience
LITtle circles was enjoyed by many participants at the event, both young and old. The moment people realised that it was an interactive artwork they were delighted and took to it with relish. I got a lot of positive responses from participants. Here are some of the comments I overheard in the crowd:
“this is so cool”
“such a great idea”
“cool, it’s like connect 4”
“this is so much fun”
Behind the concept
The overall goal with LITtle circles was to make an interactive collage, with a puzzle/game element. I was aiming to make something fun, interesting and beautiful that would work well at a light festival. The fun and interesting part comes from dropping the circles in and not knowing where they will end up. The beautiful part comes from the design and composition of the stencils that are “coloured in” by the circles. There is also an interesting progression in the image as each circle is added to a face.
Construction photos
This was one of my most challenging builds. Here are a few photos from the various stages of construction.
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by Hutt City Council for HighLight: Carnival of Lights. Thanks Ryan Gardiner and the other event organisers and volunteers for putting on such a fantastic event. Thanks Ali and Tristan for helping me with lots of last minute construction, couldn’t have done it without you two. Thanks Amos for taking wonderful photos. Thanks Amos, Fi, Ali and Tristan for helping me run the events over four nights. Thanks also to the volunteers at the light festival that helped me. Thanks Susan and Michelle for supplying some leftover fabric for the circles.