Work in Progress. January 28, 2019

The visual effect of the 32 balloons posted January 9 has a small but uncomfortable problem. The balloons were looking like Cheerios. A bit too cheerful for the ideas they are to represent which is refugees and migrants fleeing for their lives with battered breathing. I experimented with different color scheme. All the balloons are now white with a few transparent. Supporting tubings are painted white. the cover cloth beneath is white. I visualize that the balloons would blend in - white balloons, white tubes, white cloth and white wall. They will just float and suspend in the air, pulsating with air.

A week’s work has proven that the balloons are stubbornly rooted with the white tubes. Perhaps I do not know how to light the area because these balloons did not float and suspend as I had hoped for when inflating and deflating. The balloons presentation was rigid and static.

Functional settings at this stage are: The Lenticular Valve to the air-source pneumatic tubings are set at quarter turn to allow air stream-in slower and a bit less forceful. The blue airflow valve are set straight to fill front and end balloons at once in beginning, then a quarter turn to allow even distribution of air for front and end balloons. Regulator for air signal is 20psi. Regulator for air source is 60psi. Timer setting for first 16 balloons is 5sec in/2 sec out; for the 2nd set of 16 is 4sec in/ 3sec out.

Stay tune for March. Here is the blinking light bulb. The balloons would be in color again. We will have a guerrilla force working to make floor to ceiling collages with images of refugees and migrants embellished with color paints. The balloons would be in colors. Tubings would be painted with colors. The covered cloth and part of the floor would be a colorful collage also. The goal is to have the balloons floating and suspending in the air within a consuming colored stage.