When the headliners have finished their sets and the last of the line up have performed the final song for the day, it’s the combination of surrealism and the magical atmosphere at UK festivals that often lead to some of the fondest memories. Whether it’s wandering around open-mouthed at Glastonbury’s Arcadia or dancing at Reading festival’s silent disco; these are the priceless moments you just can’t do justice for when explaining to your work colleagues back at work the next day. And Illusion at The Big Chill Festival looks set to be no exception. Illusion is a light sculpture on a canvas of 32 vast balloons, all spaced out across an area the size of half a football pitch. Each night, the balloons have life breathed into them with the help of light and music.
This memorable sight is largely inspired by the Yipeng Lantern Festival – an annual festival in Thailand. Instead of large balloons, the festivals launch 200,000 floating, candle-lit lanterns up to a mile high into the night’s skies, as the festival goers watch in amazement. But there is a more spiritual motivation behind this display, as locals believe that the lanterns take away their troubles and bring them good luck for their future. After witnessing this spiritual tradition first hand, Benson Trent decided to embark on his own version of this dreamlike festival display: “I thought it was beautiful. My roommate at the time was putting together a pre-programmed Christmas light display and I thought to myself, ‘I can do better than that’, explained Trent. “I thought it would be cool to use lighting electronics to create an array of thousands of balloons to recreate a contemporary version of the festival. The idea morphed into using massive inflatable balloons synchronised to music."
The epic balloons of light not only work with the music but appear to come to life, responding to the music that they have been choreographed to. The end result is the creation of a whole range of moods, from the calm and serene atmosphere creating an environment fit for meditation, to the feeling of the grand display becoming a vast disco, with the lights and music keeping the party going. Festival-goers can even touch the balloons and actually feel their rhythmic pulse in time to the soundtrack for this surreal display. "This year we are coordinating with Murray Clark, who is creating a 24-hour soundtrack to coincide with the sunrise and sunrise to provoke different moods throughout the day,” explained Trent. “We strategically place speakers throughout the array so the nature of the sound changes as you walk through, the quality of sound is omnipresent, as if the balloons themselves are singing.”
Now just try explaining that to your boss on Monday morning…
Find out more here: http://www.bigchill.net/festival/line-up/illusion
Words by Laura Routledge
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Big Chill Festival 2010
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