A spectacular, interactive column of light will illuminate the Barcelona Skyline

Between December 16 and 29, as part of the Barcelona Nadal Festival, Sónar invites those who live in Barcelona or visit during these holidays to explore the annual path of the sun and celebrate the winter solstice through the interactive audiovisual installation ‘Analema’.

This spectacular column of light, developed by the creative studio Glassworks, will be located in Plaça Universitat and will take the form of a huge luminous and interactive cylinder accessible to everyone. In this way, citizens with their movements throughout the day, will indirectly generate the nightly dance of light that will illuminate the skyline via a vertical light tower.

This large-format work will have a circular LED screen 6m in diameter and 3m high and a generative sound system that will react depending on the user’s position, reproducing the sonic environments created by the musical duo Tarta Relena, who will also intervene live, on two occasions.

Xavier Tribó, director of Glassworks, explains: “For our studio, ‘Analema’ is much more than a simple large-format interactive installation. It has been a unique opportunity to experiment with real-time algorithms based on the physics of light and time. We are very proud of this proposal for the sensory perception of light. We invite everyone to discover different visual and sound spectrums depending on their position and time of day. It is an experiment, informed by the winter solstice, controlled by generative algorithms.”

‘Analema’ was developed by Glassworks, a creative studio with offices in Barcelona, London and Amsterdam, where they also develop audiovisual research projects, sophisticated installations and interactive experiences.

The sonic environments of ‘Analema’ have been created by Tarta Relena, whose voices transport tradition to the future and are placed better than anyone to explore the connection between traditional festivals such as the solstice and our modern celebrations.