Fluidity | Gloria Ronchi Light Artist

‘Fluidity’ is an interactive installation which visualises the ‘gender experiences’ of the  Northern Design Festival’s audience; it consists of dynamic lighting scenarios that elaborate on audience’s gender perception expressed on a chromatic scale, transforming the Central Library into a colourful and dynamic environment. 

A series of QR codes are displayed at different Festival locations, allowing users with a smartphone to quickly interact with the artwork; the engagement revolves around individual’s gender perceptions expressed on a chromatic scale in association with each particular moment in time, using a colourful gradient to tag experiences between the polar labels of 'Feminine’ and ‘Masculine' and all the grades in between. Departing from the binary logic of gender representation, we hope to open up new opportunities for discussion around gender identity, engaging with people and inviting them to question pre-assumptions.

The project results from the collaboration between Aether & Hemera and Dr. Kevin Hilton, Reader in Designing for Transformational Experiences at Northumbria University; his inspiring talk ‘Can we change our mind about gender?’ complemented this successful  Art+Science partnership.

This project was supported by Arts Council England.