Inspired by the fluidity and possibility of water, Antonin Fourneau conceived and created Water Light Graffiti. The installation celebrates the matter that we are all made up of and embraces the possibilities that lie within nature.
I am an artist or designer or inventor. I’m an electronic enthusiast and I like to play Dr. Frankenstein with all these technologies. I often use water in my projects as a source of interaction. In March 2012, I was attending design school in Beijing, China and organizing workshops about electronic devices and nature. I was eating lunch in the park when I saw a guy drawing on the ground using water. At that moment, an idea came to my mind. I immediately started to bring the concept to life, I presented a prototype size A4 in a small event in Paris, people were very super surprised; they had never seen technology like this. I first exhibited Water Light Graffiti (WLG) in July 2012 at Poitiers, the four meters tall wall impressed many and we had a lot of good feedback. Some people have compared it to the Etch a Sketch. Most of the time I try to create simple objects, I think Water Light Graffiti is my simplest installation to date.
After experiencing the installation people ask me all the time, how does it work? I am always astonished by the public’s first reaction, I love to see the expression in their faces as they watch how the water triggers the LED lights. We have a lot of different reactions depending of the age and also the country we present the installation in. For instance, in France participants like to write messages in the wall while in Asia people use the water to sketch or create emoticons. Some people, mainly teenagers, use the wall as a sort of Photomaton and others try to perform while creating graffiti all over the wall. As for young children, they try to cover the whole surface of the wall, when it dries they do it over again, again, and again.
We’ve been exhibited Water Light Graffiti in many countries, including France, USA, Abu Dhabi, Holland, and England. In collaboration with agency Digital Art International, Water Light Graffiti has encountered great success. It’s very interesting to see how people are completely mesmerized however their ages, and how it is a pleasure for them to be part of this interactive art installation.
We are currently developing for a new version of Water Light Graffiti in the video game platform using a water gun. This project was initially conceived during our first presentation of WLG at Poitiers and is now in the development stages. We are also collaborating with well known design and architecture brands to develop another version of WLG with resistant materials in order to create an outdoor installation that can withstand the elements for a longer period of time. I continue to play Dr. Frankenstein developing new concepts for interactive surfaces that may be will be introduced in the future. Our plan for the WLG video game is to develop the hardware in May 2014 and to present a dedicated game around the summer of 2014.
Featured video ©Antonin Fourneau & Water Light Graffiti
All images ©Antonin Fourneau & Water Light Graffiti