Light flickers overhead as a suspended field responds to wind, movement, and proximity, softening the threshold between street and interior. Rather than signaling an entrance through signage or barriers, the installation slows visitors through atmosphere alone—inviting pause, curiosity, and informal gathering.

POLYPlux marks the entrance to School Night, an evening exhibition of site-specific installations, performances, and discussions presented as part of Flash:Light 2011 and the New Museum’s Festival of Ideas for the New City. Installed at the corner of Prince and Mott Streets, the work occupies the exterior entry of St. Patrick’s Catholic School, transforming a utilitarian threshold into a luminous, animated environment.

The form is generated through a gravity-driven process, allowing material to find its shape before being translated into a buildable system. This approach produces a loose, flowing surface that feels responsive rather than fixed. More than fourteen hundred battery-powered LEDs are embedded throughout the hanging field, distributing light across the structure.

As night falls, the installation activates through motion. Individual elements flicker and sway in the wind, creating patterns that shift with environmental conditions and passing bodies. Light and movement dissolve the hard edge between sidewalk and event space, encouraging visitors to drift inward rather than pass by.

Interaction is informal and collective. People gather beneath and within the hanging elements, occupying the same space as the installation rather than navigating around it. By using light, gravity, and motion in place of conventional crowd-control strategies, POLYPlux reframes the entrance as an experience—one that slows the pace of the street and sets the tone for experimentation beyond the threshold.

Photos: Alan Tansey

Find out more about the process:
Prototype
Photos of the installation