A spectacular new installation will light up The National Railway Museum over the festive period, using cutting-edge technology to ‘capture’ visitors on electronic screens.
The idea behind Brief Encounters, say artists KMA Creative Technology, is to make people think about the relationship between time and distance; how it affects the journeys we make, and the people we meet.
In the past KMA have produced other large-scale public interactive works that use projected light and motion tracking technology to create immersive digital ‘playgrounds’ in public spaces.
After destination, time zone and arrival details have flashed up on the screen, visitors can watch themselves float towards the Museum’s roof before joining with another traveller at the top, crossing paths on their journeys.
One of the artists, Kit Monkman, says it is “so unique and so unlike anything you’ll have ever seen before, that it’s difficult to imagine it without seeing it for yourself.”
The National Railway Museum is hoping to establish itself as a centre for performance and the arts, following on from its successful production of The Railway Children earlier this year.
Sue Dalton, Cultural Planning Manager from the Museum, called Brief Encounters “a very impressive piece of contemporary art”. It runs until January 3 2010.
