Project Nimbus, Dave Lynch (Wuthering Bytes 2016)
Channel: AB Open
Date: 16/08/2017

In 2015, Project Nimbus achieved the inaugural projection of moving images onto clouds from aircraft. The image — Horse in Motion - Muybridge 1878 — is a shared cultural reference between art & science. Inspired by a proposed US military non-lethal weapon, the Laser Zoopraxiscope is an open source cloud projector, combining historical & innovative projection technologies.

Since the initial report in New Scientist, Nimbus was nominated for the Ars Electronica STARTS Prize in 2016 has been covered worldwide including BBC, wemakemoneynotart.com, Smithsonian Magazine, Engadget and even sparked its own conspiracy theory.

Beyond the spectacle, genuine collaboration, driven by the role of art as research and underpinned by the triad of art, science & maker cultures involving aviators, technologists & cultural specialists, was inspired by the power of an idea & joy of risk - currencies beyond money.

Through a pioneering, 4 year journey of art/science enquiry and rapid prototyping are revealed moments of apparent physical impossibility, demonstrating the fragility of inspiration. The blurring of art, science & maker cultures encapsulates the spirit of innovation & optimism that pervades research practice. Project Nimbus was created by Dave Lynch, Mike Nix & Aaron Nielsen.

* Originally a Dry Stone waller from Burnley, Dave Lynch is now an artist, director and inventor working at the intersection of moving image, large scale interactive installation, performance and projection. His practice combines elements of art, science, military, maker and media cultures as part of it’s tactics, technologies and production. He has performed over 360 live shows, over 25 large scale installations including the World’s once largest room, Europe’s largest indoor climbing wall, a 20 storey cylindrical building, a 90m high quarry and seamless 360º 4D projections onto cars and complex 4m crystal clusters.  Works have been featured on BBC 2, Wired.co.uk, The New York Times, VICE, New Scientist amongst others.