Artist Jennifer Wen Ma and lighting designer Zheng Jianwei have transformed Beijing’s Water Cube into an interactive lighting display that runs from dusk to 10 p.m. daily. The installation visualizes the emotions of Chinese social media service Sina Weibo’s millions of users with its ever-changing color.
Nature and Man in Rhapsody of Light at the Water Cube uses a custom software application that sifts through millions of emoticons and smileys posted to the site and translates them into a glowing light show.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Wen Ma
Image courtesy of Jennifer Wen Ma
Ma explains, "I have conceived this as a piece that can breathe, as an organic being that changes as nature and society around it changes. I want people to feel like they have some authorship because their emotions are being registered."
Image courtesy of Jennifer Wen Ma