RANDOM ACTS

Auckland, New Zealand, 2024

In 2023 over half the population in New Zealand reported feeling stressed to the point they could not cope or deal with things. An earlier study reported 25% of the population experiencing poor mental wellbeing. Random Acts was a work acknowledging these statistics with a view to growing awareness of and support for those impacted. It focused on random acts of kindness as one way to help grow positive mental health outcomes.

The work was a collaboration between Shannon Novak and iion, commissioned by Auckland Council. It was a light based interactive work located on the Nelson Street Cycleway in central Auckland, New Zealand, the cycleway a crucial transport link connecting Upper Queen Street to Nelson Street via a magenta coloured walking and cycle pathway. The work involved programming 290 RGBW LED lighting fixtures spanning 700 metres to change colour, intensity, and sequencing with human interaction. The lights defaulted to magenta until they detected movement. When people moved by the lights they randomly changed colour and intensity, leaving a multi-coloured trail behind them. When two or more people crossed paths, the colour change and intensity increased to symbolise and encourage positive human connections. One evening, the essence of the work extended from the cycleway into the CBD through people on the street performing random acts of kindness.

Photography: Gino Demeer (Cactus Photography), Jasper Johnstone, Xander James (Xander James Photography), and Kermath (Cutone Media).

Videography: Kermath (Cutone Media).

INTERFLOW

Te Ara I Whiti - The Lightpath, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024.

This formed the core of Random Acts, an interactive light work extending along a 700 metre cycleway.

MOIETIES

Online, 2024.

The interactive code for the work was simulated by iion through a 17 minute computer based animation representing all 290 lights on the lightpath. This appeared as a horizontal line of 290 coloured bars, randomly changing colour and intensity over time. Moieties reconfigured this animation by cutting it into 12 x 85 second sections, rotating the sections so they were vertical, then merging them into a new animation made of 12 light columns across the screen. This mimicked a DNA fingerprinting pattern, connecting Interflow with the human experience. Sound was added using an AI (artificial intelligence) application.