Between the Raindrops

Artist(s): Alice Dixon and Anthony Champa - EXTERUS

Location: Ellison St. Castlebar

Title: FIND - Between the Raindrops

Medium: installation

Date: April 2014

Materials: Paper, light, sensors

Between the raindrops from Exterus is a light-based installation that plays with the façade of an unoccupied building inviting the public to interact in an accessible format.  As the piece is subtle and not strikingly obvious as a work of art it invokes the natural curiosity inside each person to look closer and perhaps play with the work.

Empty buildings in the cities and towns have become commonplace, these buildings are seen as dysfunctional and lost architecture and as we begin to stop noticing them, they become invisible. By bringing life into these empty buildings on a temporary basis it changes the urban landscape and can have a lasting effect on the people who engage with it.

Using light was the perfect solution to reactivating empty and disused space due to its association with warmth and habitation.  The act of passers-by triggering and essentially becoming part of the piece unknowingly, literally lighting up the building, adds a perfect element of surprise and is an interesting document of how many people are aware of their surroundings and the space they move through routinely.The piece was visible in the evening from twilight. The windows lit up as they sensed people passing by.

FIND was a series of temporary artworks/installations/events in and around the town of Castlebar, Co Mayo in April 2014. The series of temporary installations were created by Mayo based artists who applied for the commissions via an open competition process.