Net Results:The best party invitation going last week was one that brought together a miscellany of geeks, scientists, technoheads and science-influenced artists, writes Karlin Lillington.
This varied crew packed out the new Science Gallery on Friday, located in Trinity College Dublin's recently completed Naughton Institute which faces onto Pearse Street at the science end of the college.
The gallery is a major new space for more than just exhibits - the intention, says director Michael John Gorman, is to get people to think about science in fresh ways, to inspire and intrigue, and to create a space in which science can be viewed, discussed and debated in the same energetic way that the arts community and general public engage with the arts.
It's a tall order but the space, with its long glass walls looking out on to Pearse Street activity, is welcoming.
The new cafe is open to all, and exhibits as well as many of the gallery's special activities are free.
This past week, the gallery as well as spaces around Dublin have been full of action during the inaugural exhibition, called Lightwave - an exploration of "light, our ability to control it and its ability to control us", as the blurb goes.
Some events are more on the arts side of sciences - or is that the science side of the arts? - while others get down to either the physics and chemistry of light, or the philosophy of science and "illumination", in all senses of the word.
What I like about the gallery so far is its accessibility and its deliberate attempt to lure anybody and everybody through its doors. It makes science intriguing, fun and funny - as anyone who saw the magnificent Lightmobile and Bubbleheads out on Dublin's streets at night over the weekend.
The Lightmobile is New York artist Eric Staller's Volkswagen Beetle covered in pulsating lights, and it was out for a drive or parked in front of the gallery over the weekend, lights ablaze. Staller's Bubbleheads is a bicycle built for four, pedalled by people wearing clear plexiglass bubbleheads festooned with pulsating lights.
I happened to step outside just as the Volkswagen drove off down Pearse Street for a spin, followed moments later by the Bubblehead cyclists, and it was a truly joyful sight. Going by the appreciating honks from other drivers, Dubliners had a good laugh at the sight themselves.
I also had a great time watching a giant projected game of Pong (anyone remember this basic paddle game?) played against the building across the street from the gallery. Somehow, the "ball" was made to bounce off the various architectural features of the building - it was hypnotic to watch.
Other exhibits inside the gallery include a light hive of live bees, a room flooded with artificial daylight (perfect for anyone needing a pick-me-up after gloomy, rainy winter days), some 3D views of the Sun covered in rippling sunspots that can be viewed through 3D specs, some hanging light sculptures that allow you to feel that you will be energised on to the Enterprise at any moment, and much more.
All these exhibits can be seen until tomorrow, so if you are in Dublin and haven't had a chance to visit, do get along to the gallery before the exhibition closes tomorrow at 7.30pm.
Several events are still on the go, too. Of special interest are a talk this evening on how light simulation is produced in computer games and manipulated for light art in public spaces (some of which can be seen in Grand Canal Square until Saturday night); a fashion show of some amazing clothing that incorporate light, and a free event tonight with some light graffiti artists who will head out onto the streets to do some "laser bombing", crowd in tow.
All in all, it is a very promising kick-off for this new venue that looks ready to stir up the sciences into an inventive new brew.
• More information on the remaining events, times and venues can be found at www.sciencegallery.ie.
Blog: www.techno-culture.com
