When you walk down the street next time, you might want to take a closer look at your shadow. Shadowing records everyday life from the point of view of street light. The new projection-mapping public art installation provides a glimpse of thousands of people that have walked below the lamp, recording everyday life of passerby’s with an infrared camera and re-projecting them back onto the street. The longer you stand below the light, the more shadows you see.

Eight lamps were strategically placed around Bristol, UK as part of the International Making the City Playable Conference, supported by the Watershed art organization. The goal being to create, “a city where people, hospitality and openness are key, enabling its residents and visitors to reconfigure and rewrite its services, places and stories.” As Watershed organizers Jonathan Chomko and Matthew Rosier write, “Shadowing invites interaction between people who share a space. This could be as simple as walking together, or more complex gestures could occur – a wave hello, a hop, or a dance.”

Shadowing was the winner of the Playable City Award among all the participants who submitted concepts to the conference. Bravo for such a fun and whimsical city-wide installation!