Document:Q10904

The Hive is an interactive public work created entirely using projected light and the heat of bodies in the space. The narrative picks up on themes of alien abduction explored by Philip Glass in his opera '1000 Airplanes on the Roof', from where the soundtrack also comes. The work is generated by the curiosity of visitors: at times, swarms of tiny insect-like creatures fly through the space and swarm around the audience, weaving and flowing across the stage. Behind the scenes, computer models of swarms, cellular automata and fluid dynamics drove the projections, providing a link between the real world and this science-fiction fantasy.
The piece was commissioned to celebrate the opening of Dublin’s new Science Gallery and was presented by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority in collaboration with the Science Gallery.