Bloom Promenade is an interactive light exhibit that celebrates Renewal through the regrowth of flora in the spring and the effect humans can have on this transformation. The installation features a collection of vertical columns of lights in planters, arranged into a promenade of flowers. When there are no pedestrians, the blooms are animated by whites and muted blue hues, symbolising falling snow. As someone walks by, the flowers will ‘bloom’ into vivid colours ‘growing’ from the ground up, accompanied by the sounds of nature in spring. As we get closer, the taller the light ‘grows’ and the more vibrant the colours and melodies become, creating an interactive experience when the participant pauses to ‘stop and smell the roses’.
Bloom Promenade reminds us that we are all part of a delicate ecosystem and that our passive actions can have unexpected consequences. By responding to the simple act of walking by, Bloom Promenade encourages passers-by to reflect and think about how we play an active role in the renewal of our environment.
Artists
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Bitbrainz
Christina and Binam Kayastha are siblings who specialize in interactive art powered by emerging technologies. Originally from Nepal, they are currently in Ontario, Canada and are working as software engineers. With a passion for bridging the digital divide, they strive to use computer engineering to invent new accessible and magical human-machine interfaces. The first art installation they contributed to was MakeToMove - an interactive geodesic dome sculpture which was exhibited at the 2015 Fab11 Festival in Boston, MA. This project demonstrated how there are many forms of exercise by inviting passersby to join gesture-based projected games, play on musical panels and pedal on exercise machines to trigger light and bubble shows. Since then, their innovative prototypes have collectively won over a dozen hackathon competitions. At the AT&T Internet of Things hackathon, they won first place for One Arm Band - a wearable musical instrument sleeve that generated MIDI music from movement and muscle tension. At Microsoft Holohacks, they were awarded the best in spatial sound for Holosense - an augmented reality app to empower visually impaired people to see using echolocation. They also won first place for MyoDraw, a collaborative painting VR app for people with mobility impairments. Building on these experiences, in 2019 they founded Bitbrainz, a startup focused on multidisciplinary design and development. Through their art, Christina and Binam Kayastha strive to transform how we interact with our devices and the digital ecosystems we live in.
