In the lead up to the Velo-city Global 2016 Conference, which will be held in Taipei at the end of February in the Taipei International Convention Center, Shin Kong Life has commissioned an interactive light installation with a focus on cycling that hopes to demonstrate the connectivity between the health of a city and an active, sustainable lifestyle.
Shin Kong commissioned The Loop.pH, a London based experimental design studio, to construct an art installation that requires active participation from cyclists in the city.
According to The Loop.pH:
Fleeting trails of light are created as participants physically interact with the installation by cycling through the vortices of light. The light visually communicates local air quality with dynamic branching structures, reminiscent of trees and the tubular networks in our lungs.
The installation uses and advanced air quality sensor to collect the fluctuating data. The installation draws on the field of aerodynamics, the study of air in motion, to communicate the dynamic, borderless nature of our planet's fragile atmosphere. On top of the treelike structure is a network of ephemeral tunnels that move gently with the breeze.As cyclists we have all experienced Taiwan's growing problem with unhealthy levels of air pollution that completely negate the health benefits of cycling. Cases of lung cancer and childhood asthma rates have more than doubled over the past two decades, with one out of every five first graders receiving a diagnosis for asthma in Taipei, and lung cancer becoming the leading cause of cancer death in Taiwan.
As Taiwan seeks to promote itself as a "Bicycle Kingdom" while rebranding the nation for cultural and ecotourism, the nation will have to address the problem of pollution.
Check out more about the VelO2 installation project at The Loop.pH Facebook page.
VelO2
Opening 26th February, 6-8pm
Dadaocheng Waterfront, Taipei
26th February– 6th March 2016
