Barrier

Barrier

SDK Terrein outdoor

Can barriers be broken together with others? Barriers such as misunderstanding, prejudice or miscommunication? We all encounter them at some point in our lives. The light artwork Barrier proves that we can.

A giant curtain of light columns rises imposingly along the route. Push against it and the columns start to move. If you do it alone the movement is small. Push with a group and the curtain bends and shifts even further. Hold on as the tension builds, visibly and audibly. And then, boom! The barrier breaks, thanks to your combined effort. The way forward opens up once more. In this way the artwork reminds us that the obstacles in our lives, big and small, can be overcome together.

Philip Ross originally designed this work to commemorate a peaceful uprising in Leipzig, Germany. In 1989, 70,000 people demonstrated for democracy and against the Iron Curtain. The massive physical barrier they sought to overcome is symbolically embodied in Ross’s work Barrier. Its power remains just as strong today: when you succeed in breaking through the barrier together, you feel the energy rushing through your veins. Push along and experience it for yourself.

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About the artist

Philip Ross

Philip Ross creates interactive light environments that invite people to take action. His installations spark creativity and aim to inspire harmony between people. Studio Philip Ross combines insights and techniques from art, design and science, resulting in wondrous encounters, as in the light artwork Barrier.

As Ross himself puts it: “How can light spark something between people? How can technology be shaped into something both new and familiar?”

Philip Ross trained as an industrial designer at TU Delft and as a researcher at TU Eindhoven. He exhibits internationally at light festivals, publishes on the subject of light, and speaks at conferences in the Netherlands and abroad. He is also a mentor at GLOW Academy, guiding students who participate in GLOW.

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Light art. 2025.

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