playball! is an interactive installation that calls  viewers to action. Its formal qualities create a physical response from LLUM festival goers and celebrates light in a playful manner. Playball uses light to create interactions between the viewer and installation, and between viewers themselves. By hitting one ball to another, light is passed on, allowing light to take on the playful nature of balls. A new typology of ball now acts as an icon of potential energy and potential play, while masking any preconceived symbolism of light.

Ball sizes are loosely based on common sports ball sizes making them feel familiar and approachable. The distribution is organized (from the outside-in) from bigger to smaller, creating an artificial “cavernous” feel. The larger balls on the outsides are the most reachable and initialize the chain reaction. Smaller balls in the middle are organized on a secondary grid to create more density, while also hanging higher to avoid being grabbed.

PlayBall is a project at IAAC developed with the Masters in Advanced Interaction in 2017 by:

Students: Matthew Mondini, Gustavo More, and Ashkan Foroughi Dehnavi