Between April 22 and May 3, professional or even amateur lighting designers could create an enormous light show over Dublin, Ireland with just a few points and clicks. This is the fourth incarnation of Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hammer's “Vectorial Elevation.” Site visitors could program beams of light from 22 robotic searchlights that were visible at a distance of 15 km. The scenes changed every 14 seconds as a new design was delivered via the Internet.
The website included a program with a virtual model of downtown Dublin where web surfers could direct the searchlights and view the resulting matrix of light from any angle. The site also had a live broadcast from four video cameras placed at Liberty Hall, Wynn's Hotel, the Post Office, and the Liver Building. Each design was documented with its own web page and an email sent to the online designer.
This version of “Vectorial Elevation” was commissioned and funded by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism for Ireland 2004 Presidency of the European Union, and is produced by St. Patrick's Festival.
Previous installations include the Zócalo Plaza in Mexico City for the Millennium celebrations. In 2002 the project was set up again in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, for the opening of the Basque Centre for Contemporary Art. In December of 2003, the piece transformed the Place Bellecour in Lyon, France, for the UN's World Summit of Cities and the Fête des Lumières.