About
Beyond the Deep is a public interactive LED installation of a giant jellyfish with the animation LED sequences controllable by the internet and open to the public.
The work measures in at a whopping 2.5 storeys tall, with a 4m diameter and 7m tentacles.
The materials used make use of stockpiles of single use plastic bags from local businesses, which are now illegal for them to use in Australia, to raise a conversation regarding sustainability.
The Work
Gallery
Team
Above: (L-R) Richard Foster, Amed Hammadi, Claudia Osborn, Renato Frias Goncalves, Liam Key
Project Message
The recent 'plastic bag ban' which saw legislation introduced prohibiting the sale of single use plastic bags across various states in Australia has caused conflicting messaging and frustration by shoppers, and has generally been dealt with in a uninspired way.
Some of the striking imagery used to describe the problem with plastic bags resonated with our Digital Media students: "A single bag floating in the ocean can be easily mistaken as a jellyfish by various marine life". The general takeaway of the "ban" has been restriction, rather than inspiration for change.
Above: Still from digital campaign of Intro 2018 by Renato Frias Goncalves & Liam Key
Above: Still from digital campaign of Intro 2018 by Renato Frias Goncalves & Liam Key
The Digital Media students at Billy Blue College of Design in Brisbane created the large-scale, interactive installation 'Beyond the Deep'which focused on disruptive messaging, and creates a beautiful visual spectacle from dangerous and unwanted materials.
The repercussions on local businesses of the ban have been to dispose of the no longer necessary plastic bags, and the students have found a way to intercept their final destination and use these materials as the skin of the installation.
By connecting the bags with jellyfish conceptually, the lasting memory is their interchangeability and similarity. The installation is a launchpad for conversations to occur around the sustainability issues present in our cities.
Technical Specifications
Structural Build
- 2.5 storey tall structural build
- Approx. 45m electrical conduit
- Approx. 17 x 3 ways, 6 x custom built 4 ways, 3 x custom 6 ways
- Approx. 20m irrigation piping (secondary framework)
- Approx. 60m marine grade steel wiring
- Approx. 75m electrical cabling
- Custom built design in order to be dissassembled and reassembled
Skin
- Approx. 700+ salvaged & recycled plastic bags
- Approx. 30m salvaged & recycled marquee canvas
- Custom stitched skin as a single cover
- Custom built skirting and layered center frills
- Approx. 40 hours build on skin
LEDs
- Over 3500 individually addressable LEDs in use
- Approx. 120m of LED cabling
- Approx. 75m of support electrical cabling woven throughout
- Approx. 150 custom soldered components
- Unique soldering methods employed (dovetail, doublenecks)
- Powered from 2 x 60A 5V transformers
Hardware
- All 3500+ LEDs connected to a single NodeMCU (49mm x 24.5mm x 13mm)
- WS281B LED data lines connected to NodeMCU (ESP8266)
- Custom C++ and Arduino code using FastLED library
- Custom animation sequences built using Palette Knife
- Custom synced animation to voice for exhibition night
Control System
- Animation sequences are triggered from public website & touchscreen interface
- Custom built touchscreen application and web based control system
- Application built in HTML, CSS, jQuery using AJAX calls
- Custom built HUD interface using SVG, 3D & motion design
- Many thanks to initial port mapping system and methodology from Jason Coon's FastLED webserver
Making of Beyond The Deep
Billy Blue College of Design
All digital media students and lecturers involved in the project study and teach at the Billy Blue College of Design @ Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Australia.
A huge thanks to the University for allowing unconventional visions from the up and coming designers of tomorrow to be realised.
Media Pack
All information on this page is located in a PDF (1.3MB) here
All images on this site are located in a ZIP file (12.8MB) here
For more information, interviews or to republish this material contact Liam Key @ lkey@laureate.net.au