Telescopes to a Beautiful City
Around the city telescopes appear. Everywhere. Facing wasteland, and photogenic landscapes alike. When a member of the public approaches to gaze through the lens, their touch sparks a beautiful story about the city and the Telescope’s location to play. Not only that- but the Telescope reveals itself to be a Taleidoscope- a device that uses mirrors to create beautiful patterns from the environment in front of you. Whether it is a rubbish bin, or a colourful flowerbed, people will experience the beauty of their city magnified whilst listening to the narratives of their neighbours.
A solo experience, with collective impact through the 100s of Telescopes across the city, this is a project for stumbling upon, for discovering. It responds to an individual’s curiosity and rewards their gaze through the lens with stories and a new memory of their city. Which no-one will ever see again in quite the same way.
We collect local stories to play on the Telescopes, and work with local artists will design the outsides of Telescopes making each one unique to city they are located in.
Sharing secret stories and intimate locations creates a strong bond between the city and citizens. And this is a subtle, free city wide experience for all its citizens.
Telescopes to a Beautiful City
Around the city telescopes appear. Everywhere. Facing wasteland, and photogenic landscapes alike. When a member of the public approaches to gaze through the lens, their touch sparks a beautiful story about the city and the Telescope’s location to play. Not only that- but the Telescope reveals itself to be a Taleidoscope- a device that uses mirrors to create beautiful patterns from the environment in front of you. Whether it is a rubbish bin, or a colourful flowerbed, people will experience the beauty of their city magnified whilst listening to the narratives of their neighbours.
A solo experience, with collective impact through the 100s of Telescopes across the city, this is a project for stumbling upon, for discovering. It responds to an individual’s curiosity and rewards their gaze through the lens with stories and a new memory of their city. Which no-one will ever see again in quite the same way.
We collect local stories to play on the Telescopes, and work with local artists will design the outsides of Telescopes making each one unique to city they are located in.
Sharing secret stories and intimate locations creates a strong bond between the city and citizens. And this is a subtle, free city wide experience for all its citizens.
As seen in the Brazilian national press, British Council Press and Wired Magazine
Created by:
Laura Kriefman, Filipe Calegario, Natasha Chubbuck and Thais Vidal as part of the Recife: Playable City Sprint 2014.