Bits of Moments

The Poetic World of a Single Bit

Our world is, in essence, a continuous gathering of independent activities, and Linz is no exception. Bits of Moments visualizes the individual events taking place in Linz.

The four drawings on the walls and the table in this room each represent the flow of people visiting the Ars Electronica Festival. Sensors have been installed at the entrances of four exhibition sites. Each time a visitor enters or leaves a building, the sensors send a signal to this room via the internet. The digital “bit” received here reflects a fragment of a moment, unknowingly or knowingly, provided by those present in Linz at that very instant.

The drawings are sketches of the exhibition sites, and on the table lies an illustrated map of the city. Each time a person visits an exhibition site, an icon representing a visitor appears in the animation projected onto the drawings. Simultaneously, an image of a water droplet is projected onto the map on the table, indicating the visitor’s presence. The numbers projected beneath the drawings show the number of visitors at each building.

Bits of Moments is a work of art that involves everyone visiting Linz during the Ars Electronica Festival—including you, standing before this artwork—ultimately making you, consciously or unconsciously, a participant in this artistic experience.