United Visual Artists (UVA) has been commissioned by Virgin Media to create an immersive light installation on London’s South Bank to mark the tenth anniversary of broadband in the UK. Speed of Light is a series of installations that explore the themes of communication and modernity.

‘SPEED OF LIGHT,’ 9th-19th April 2010

BARGEHOUSE

OXO Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, London SE1 9PH

The series of installations aims to invoke in the viewer a sense of the ‘magic’ involved in fibre optic communications.

About the project: Stripped back to its materials, fibre optic is a thin strand of glass, with nothing more than a flickering beam of light. UVA have used this beam as the starting point for their work. The installations dramatize the experience of using fibre-optic communication, re-imagining it as an immersive environment.

The story begins with an input from the audience, which is transferred into a pathway of light, leading through the atmospheric environment of the Bargehouse. The continuous line of light evolves through each installation in turn shifting in intensity and form.

Speed of Light uses over 148 lasers across four floors and six rooms of the Bargehouse, a raw and industrial warehouse on the South Bank.

Images © United Visual Artists 2010

This series of four short video diaries have been produced to explain the project:

EDITOR’S COMMENT:

The images in this web post make the installation look cool. However, the real-life experience is a million times more amazing and is another kick-ass multi-sensorial, experiential installation by UVA.

Presumably, Virgin Media has commissioned this for the cool factor = commercial pay-off. Well, that’s absolutely fine by me. I praise the visionary person at Virgin who had the balls to go ahead with this ambitious project. This is truly where commerce and culture can exist side by side. I would encourage other large brands to embrace a similar outlook.

As for the actual installation, go and see it for yourself before it closes. My only wish was that it was open for longer…