Eyebeam’s FEEDBACK Exhibition Thinks Green

As I entered Eyebeam’s FEEDBACK exhibition, I immediately strolled over to the patch of green in the middle of the room and stood there a minute, feeling far from the chaos of the city—aaahhh. I was definitely at the right place! Eyebeam’s FEEDBACK exhibition highlighted the work of Eyebeam’s Sustainability Research Group. The “green” I was standing on was actually turf which serves as a commons for everyone at the show.

In this exhibition, artists, designers, architects, and engineers respond to the question what does it mean to think green? The exhibition is the culmination of Eyebeam’s “Beyond Lightbulbs Series,” which highlights the work of individuals, collectives, local community groups, and Eco-Vis Challenge winners. The projects were varied and included everything from public art projects and industrial design to DIY energy solutions and software tools.

Projects were as diverse as Brooke Singer’s Superfund365, which examines superfund sites throughout the U.S. to Rebecca Bray and Britta Riley’s DrinkPeeDrinkDrinkPee sewage processing organ, which explores issues around our waste! Many projects covered energy issues, like Fluxxlab’s “Revolution Door,” which many visitors strolled through and then turned around and came back to ask questions about immediately afterward. “Revolution Door” asks how we can use and redistribute human energy. I was also intrigued by something which looked like an old school hot dog cart, appropriately titled “The Power Cart” (Mouna Andraos), which examines alternative forms of power (like solar) for vendors and others working on the street. Andrea Polli’s “Queensbridge Wind Project” presents the idea that clean, renewable wind power might be incorporated into the architecture of this landmark bridge.

For anyone interested in better understanding how your urban neighborhood is impacted by air pollution, Preemptive Media’s “Air” project is a social experiment that engages the public to do just that. The Air devices have sensors that detect carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ground level ozone. The devices allow participants or “carriers” to explore and measure the air pollution and “fossil fuel burning hotspots” in their cities. Carriers can see pollution levels and can tap into measurements from other devices in the network. The devices also measure the distance from the carriers to the polluters!