GLOW 2021 at TU/e

How do we see? How does light contribute to sight? Humanity has researched these questions for millennia, and the answers have continuously changed. In Ancient Greece, nearly 2500 years ago, Empedocles answered this question as follows: We see through sending a special kind of light, “Visual Fire”, out of our eyes.

The 21-meter high GEM-Stage is a real eye-catcher due to its height and its colourful appearance. The GEM-Stage supplies 100% sustainable energy for performances at festivals and events. The energy of the GEM-Stage is generated by the wind turbine, the solar panels, the LSC panels and the hydrogen generator.

You probably don’t give it much thought, but the way we light up public space at night has a profound influence on how we experience and use it. But is the one-size-fits-all way we light up public space the best and most meaningful way?

The light we are exposed to during the day influences our day-night rhythm. The intensity, the spectrum, the duration, the time of day: all these factors have a positive, healthy or disruptive, unhealthy influence on our biological clock. Modern life involves exposure to large amounts of artificial light from screens and office lighting, often at the wrong time of day.

Everyone experiences growth in their life. Growing means investing time and effort into reaching your goals. By overcoming and mastering different elements in the process, you are able to keep on expanding yourself and flourish. Even though it might not always seem that the steps you are taking now contribute to your final goal, eventually it will all fall into place.

A winding path of magical glowing mushrooms. Enchanting interaction. A unique and beautiful approach to wayfinding. That is how visitors of the Eindhoven University of Technology campus will be guided as they travel from one eye-catching installation to the next.

The social cohesion between individuals in public spaces has decreased during the pandemic. Through our light artwork "Ballroom", we from team IGNITE investigate reigniting the feeling of social cohesion amongst the GLOW visitors. We invite you to experience our modern "Ballroom" situated in "de Markthal" on the TU/e campus.

What does the world look like through the eyes of technology? We increasingly use sensors as our eyes to the world. Cutting edge sensors provide us with input for our devices, for our knowledge and much more. Sensors have become essential to modern life. But at the same time, these sensors can be elusive as a black box. What do they see? When are they watching? What are they paying attention to?

A strong cage to keep them out, a large cage to keep you in. A cage of metal and strength. A cage of concepts and fears. Who’s the true prisoner when you imagination holds you back? Who’s the true victim when your imagination has been repressed to fit the status quo? To lose oneself in a place of unlimited possibilities is both a blessing and a curse. Not being weighed down with the burdens of reality might leave you unable to ground yourself back down to earth. Why bother staying down to earth when all signs point to the stars? Of all the buttons on your keyboard, Space is the largest eye catcher. Enter, the cage of thought and consider; who is the real prisoner of imagination? Our design relates to the thoughts buzzing in our heads that helps us connect to humanity. Is our brain enthusiastic when people make contact? Or does is it get anxious? This artwork will be displayed on the TU/e terrain during GLOW 2021.

From Left to right, up or down. Thoughts can go any direction. The can bounce in your mind or go from one to the other. This project refers to the constant flow of ideas. It's an ode to imagination. Being able to visualise ideas, and make new connections is something that makes us human. We can imagine, get surprised and adapt. Just like the dots of light that jump around, ideas can be surprising. They bounce off objects, manoeuvre through space and create new perspectives.