Time. Can you think of a more important thing in one human’s life? You might say “love”, “family”, “health”, “happiness”, “friends”, etc. But ALL these are time-limited or time-pressed – by the hours of a day or by the number of the years we love or live. Definitely, time becomes instantly an emotional immersive concept for any of us. And when one brings it magically in front of the people, under their eyes and shoes – on the streets, it becomes even more powerful… and stories start, with every pedestrian passing “over” time.
This is what the Daku, a graffiti artist from India, did in partnership with St+art India, a NGO aiming to make art more democratic, and for all, by taking it out, on the streets. “The Theory of Time” – an immersive text-based work – was installed as a fishnet structure, suspended over one street from Panjim, Goa (India). Using no immersive tech, but playing with sun, text and shadows, the street art project reminds the passing people that time is ephemeral.
Once emotionally immersed in the story of the time that “moves” and “flies” and “leaves its shadows behind”, each passing person would add his or her story related to time, co-creating the final story. The spatial immersion is built using the shadows of the suspended letters.
The art project is thus a creative and powerful combination of both emotional and spatial immersion, while becomes a very powerful tool for co-creation – the pedestrians are immersed and challenged, in a subtle way, to bring to light their own story about the challenge time gave or gives them. They can keep the story for themselves or share it with the ones they walk together, right there or in life. Powerful and inspiring immersive story!
Photos credentials: the photos are from St+art India Facebook page, from a public post.