A new, immersive piece of art has opened in Vancouver's financial district.
Amongst the skyscrapers in the city's core a stand of 9 ft. tall structures has been built. Called 'Parasol', it's a new art installation from Vancouver-based Tangible.
"This captivating experience seeks to safely reconnect people with one another and their environments - in a world of disconnect," states Tangible in a press release.
'Parasol' is part of the updated Dunsmuir Patio at the Bentall Centre near the intersection of Burrard and Dunsmuir streets. Alex Beim, the founder and lead artist at Tangible says he hopes to break the hold small screens (on phones or computers) have on people.
"We’re so used to being limited to experiencing the world through small screens like phones and computers that sometimes you feel something real and it is kind of mind-blowing," he says in the press release. "If we had a lot of elements like these in the city people would be more awake, aware, and connected than we are right now.”
During the day the new art acts like its namesake, blocking the sun for those standing or sitting below. At night, though, the umbrellas light up with a series of LEDs, creating a lit-up nightscape via the giant mushroom-like structures. The lighting isn't just on or off, though, but will include illuminated animations creating patterns of light.
"Tangible developed one-of-a-kind mushroom-like structures that fuse nature and innovative light design to reignite onlookers’ sense of wonder.Each structure contains40 fins to mimic the underbelly of a mushroom — half of which hold controllable LED lights with acrylic diffusers," states the press release.
