The Earthly Flower is a 10m tall, handcrafted light installation made of wire and silk. This multi-sensory interactive artwork was designed for the 2021 – 2022 Lightopia Festival in Manchester, UK. Over 100 thousand people have visited and interacted with this beautiful artwork. Interaction between installation and people is at the forefront of this design to make the audience feel part of the installation. The Earthly Flower calls three of our senses/points which are touch, sight and hear and that’s its source of charge.
The installation is surrounded by eight drums, guarding the flower in a circle. They are connected with colourful lights which they can move towards the body and the top of the petals. The moving light charged by its audience represents inner-strength, and love for humanity. It’s up to the audience to use their kinetic energy to send paths of light to the flower to flourish with illumination through their interaction with the drums.
The interactivity of the installation made it a very popular zone at the festival where families, friends and couples would queue to experience the Earthly Flower as it allowed them to create sounds together by using different drums. Children especially enjoyed this installation as it allowed them to interact and have fun whilst walking around the route of the light festival, the Earthly Flower gave them a sense of joy.
The multi-sensory aspect of the Earthly Flower begins with seeing the installation with quickly moving on to touching the drums in different ways to send the light paths up and around the flower through movement. Whilst touching the drums to light up the flower, sounds are created based on the type of touch provided. Music was played around this installation for a more magical experience and to further awaken the senses.
It’s curved stems cradle the blooming flower and makes the path for the light to flow through the installation. The use of two colours for this installation; shades of green express renewal and life mixed with the white flower symbolising the purity of nature. From a bird’s eye perspective this installation can be seen next to a blue and green installation, these colours together reference the earth and mother nature. A symbolism that we have to help and take care of our planet to allow our habitat to grow.
Placed in a round grassed area near a complimentary installation, the space allows the audience to move around in a circle and interact with drums, referencing the circle of life.
The multisensory installation creates an exciting atmosphere and offers an alternative experience to the audience by making them part of the lights compared to only staying as a viewer but becoming part of this artwork’s energy.
