Madrid 1.8: the floating and luminous sculpture that covers the Plaza Mayor in its IV Centennial

As part of the events of the IV Centenary of the Plaza Mayor of Madrid, American artist Janet Echelman exhibits this complex and dynamic mesh inspired by the Japanese tsunami.

Until next time 19 February and as part of the commemorative activities of the IV Centenary of the Plaza Mayor of Madrid (more data in Digital AV), a huge and dynamic floating and luminous sculpture - called 'Madrid 1.8'- created by the American artist Janet Echelman hangs over the well-known statue of Felipe II.

The mesh designed by Echelman, with dimensions of 44 meters long by 35 wide and 21 high, It has been made with layers of braided fiber, in two materials and knotted, that moves and vibrates with the wind and programmed lighting, creating a choreography of undulating color, which is inspired by scientific data from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in the year 2011, and the notion that “We are all connected between the Earth's natural systems”, As its author has pointed out.

Specifically, Studio Echelman generated the sculpture's 3D shape using datasets of tsunami wave heights across the entire Pacific Ocean..

The resulting vibrations momentarily accelerated the Earth's rotation, shortening the length of the day by 1.8 microseconds, which became the catalyst for the sculpture '1.8' that is now displayed in the Plaza Mayor for ten days.

The company Engineering Mechanism has been in charge of developing the project of structures to support this piece, in which the projected light mixes with the colors of the fiber and the lighting of the buildings.