Bailes+Light: Fire Lanterns

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Fire Lanterns is a bespoke kinetic piece designed to evoke memories of friends and relatives who are no longer with us. Featured in a large, high-ceilinged room, it immerses audiences in a cloud of lanterns, as they gently rise and flicker against a soundscape of hundreds of whispers drifting on the wind. In this collaboration with designers Darling & Edge, we designed and fabricated the lantern light sources and concealed kinetic systems and installed them within the space. The flicker effects emanating from each lantern responded to a combination of live audio taken from microphones and pre-created sound.

Working within the constraints of a listed building, we developed a discreet yet intricate rigging system using pulleys, steel wire, and fishing line, spanning the entire ceiling. Each lantern was individually linked to a network of motors in a separate control room, programmed to rotate at varying speeds. Using sensors and our interactive technology, we ensured that the lanterns would only illuminate whilst being lifted, creating an effect of ever-rising lights.