Mobility (2010)

For the World Expo Shanghai 2010 ART+COM interprets the theme of movement with a dynamic yet poetic mirror installation. One hundred prosthetic hands arranged in a matrix revolve around their own vertical axis, the movements being controlled by motors. The mirrors they hold reflect the beam of a floodlight into the room and onto the wall opposite. Here the beam spots follow a computative dramaturgy, first gliding chaotically along elliptical paths and finally coming together to form the Chinese character for movement.

The space-filling installation “/Mobility” spans a corridor which is seven metres wide. On the left-hand side, white plastic hands – manufactured at the Otto Bock production facilities – are mounted in rows of ten over a surface area of four square metres. Since the hands are controlled individually by motors, the hundred reflected beam spots move in a smooth flow. The concentrated dynamism of the light creates 3D-images of great spatial depth.

The installation opens the “Physical Mobility” section in the Life & Sunshine Pavilion, which is dedicated to the concerns of handicapped people. Over a surface area of 250 square metres, the German medical technology manufacturer Otto Bock Healthcare and Otto Bock China show how technical aids can compensate for limitations to natural mobility. Visible from a long way off, the “/Mobility” installation provides a metaphor of powerful visual radiance, evoking a mood which introduces visitors to the theme.

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