City Sleep Light - Antoine Schmitt

Light installation

Media facade or light projection
Created in 2010

City Sleep Light is an artwork developped by Antoine Schmitt, that makes the radical move of transforming a whole building into the sleep light of the city. All the lights of the building pulse together : the whole building behaves like a single white light slowly pulsating. It can be seen from very far, even from outer-space. When the city goes to sleep, a building light up like a single light, and pulse slowly and organically like the sleep light of a computer. It is the sleep light of the city.

City Sleep Light acknowledges the city as a very large system, but here the huge urban organism is sleeping. Through the sole presence of the pulsating sleep light, thanks precisely to the actual absence of any superfluous arbitrary visual effect or data representation, it confronts the spectator to the potential complexity and power of the city when it wakes up. Its organic pulse also creates an emotional link by connecting the inhabitants with the city's sleep, triggering feelings of peacefulness, empathy and belonging. But as often in Antoine Schmitt's artworks, it is not innocuous and eventually questions the people about their role and responsibility within this complex system.

The City Pulse rhythm and dynamics is slightly different every night, because it is sensitive to the current spirits of the city, perceived through various socio-economic markers. Physically, City Sleep Light can be created using various technologies, like LED-equipped facades and building, light or LED projectors, videoprojectors, etc... 

In any case, the light is synchronized on the City Pulse, which is available through internet and is also visible live inside a browser, so that anyone at home or abroad, on his iPhone or her Android, can connect to it and pulse synchronously with the city's sleep and the City Pulse of all cities never stop.

Exhibitions

2011
Fête des Lumières - former Debrousse Hospital - in partnership with Vinci Immobilier (Lyon, France)

2010
Media Facades Festival / Nuit Blanche - iMAL's building facade (Brussels, Belgium)
Media Facades Festival - Nightscreen Gasometer et Collegium Hungaricum Berlin  (Berlin, Germany)
Media Facades Festival - Lasipalatsi Square (Helsinky, Finland)
Media Facades Festival / Ars electronica festival - Ars Electronica Center(Linz, Austria)
Media Facades Festival / La Noche En Blanco - MediaLab-Prado (Madrid, Spain)

Award

2010 : Honorary mention at Digital Turku LIVE 2011 Grand Prix

Production credits

Concept and development by Antoine Schmitt

Producers

"City Sleep Light" has been produced with the support of iMAL on the occasion of the Media Façade Festival Europe 2010, european project developed with the European Culture Programme and the Belgium's French Community.

"City Sleep Light : Debrousse Veille" has been produced by VINCI Immobilier Rhône-Alpes Auvergne with the support of VINCI Energies under the curatorship of aesthetic philosophy. Executive production: iMAL

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City Sleep Light
Video shooting & editing: Vincent Evrard