Ever wished you could be a kid again? When your biggest worry in life was whether you’d be forced to go to bed early or made to get in the bath? (Both things you’d pay good money to do these days?!) Why is that kids get to do all the fun stuff like blowing bubbles, sliding down torrentially wet, water slides and bouncing with joy in over inflated bouncy castles? Well, just when you thought signing up to be an adult meant no fun, loads of debt and alarm clocks waking you at ungodly hours, along comes the fantastical and wonderful architects, Plastique Fantastique. They are the creators behind this childlike, awe-inspiring installation. Bubbles filled with air that you get to hang out and sit in, and watch performances that are filled with smoke, dancers and musicians. Cooool.
Frankly, it’s the type of thing every kid loves. But wait for it. It’s not for kids. It’s for us. Us big kids. Installed in Terschelling, The Netherlands, LOUD SHADOWS is an amalgamation of performances, music, dance and architecture. And it’s big. Really big. So big you feel like a kid sitting on an oversized chair. There are two large clear bubbles. And then there’s the inflated ring that sits between the two, joining them like a space-age maze.
“The architecture of Plastique Fantastique is monumental, yet mobile, soft and transparent. It’s ephemeral skin influences the environment as much as its inner space offers a lucid view outwards,” said the architects.
It’s like being transported into the world of a Shakespearean play, performed on a moon in a different galaxy waiting for the furry little Ewoks to scamper in from the woodlands that surround it. And what big kid wouldn’t sign up for that?