mere - Transpass
2020, Media installation
Credits:
The project was made by the mere art group (Olesya Ilenok and Andrey Chugunov).
Technical support: Denis Korenkov, Dmitrii Protosevich, Valentina Anufrieva, Danila Matrosov.
Consultations: Valeriy Shestakov, methodologist of the Narrow-gauge Railroad Museum.
Venue: Sverdlovsk Children's Railway Station in Central Mayakovsky Park of Culture and Recreation, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The artwork was commissioned for the Undark light-art festival in Yekaterinburg, Russia and funded by the Avantgarde Territory project.
Used media:
32 LED tubes, 8-channel sound.
Description:
The Transpass project transforms the alienated space under the railway bridge at the station in Mayakovsky Park, Yekaterinburg, Russia, turning it into one of the points of attraction. In the bridge's spans, 32 LED tubes are used to create two parallel light corridors 100 meters long each. By alternating dynamic and static light patterns in the bridge's spans, the project explores the processes of movement and transition from one state to another. The spatial arrangement of sound within the installation enhances the perception of the movement of light.

On the one hand, the station can be perceived as a loaded machine of movement, honed to the minute, and on the other hand as a place of waiting, a kind of analogue of purgatory. The alternation of static and dynamic light scenes emphasizes the complexity of the states of this location.

The colour palette refers to El Lissitzky's idea that colour sets directions in urban spaces. Using a simple set of abstract and dynamic light forms, we refer to his understanding of colour, according to which red is like a beating pulse, white is the colour of hygiene and space, and black (in our case, the absence of light) destroys volume. Thus, in the installation, red light patterns are in motion, white is used in static scenes, and dark becomes an opportunity to hide space.

As the starting sound of the first scene, a recording of electromagnetic waves converted to the audible range from the locomotive generator is used. And the frequency characteristics of the sound generators of individual scenes are determined by numerical data - the parameters of the narrow-gauge railroad in the park.
Small documentary about project and production: