Diodysia

LED artwork by Mark C. Slee

Originally produced for the 2012 Burning Man festival, Diodysia is a return to the simple structural form of a uniform grid, with a focus on scale. The 400 LED nodes are mounted on a black hardware cloth mesh, in a 20×20 square of roughly 12 feet.

In darkness, the mesh itself and uniformity of the lights fade from prominence, leaving the patterns to express form.

Diodysia's patterns focus on interactions, typically constructed using sets of similar objects operating under evolving, randomized conditions. Balls bounce under different sizes and gravitational constraints. Swings sway under modulated timing and damping.

The work's name is drawn from a combination of the Greek Dionysia, a theatrical festival to Dionysus, coupled with the word diode, the electrical component from which its light is born.

Coupled with other portable works, Diodysia has been deployed to create a unique lighting environment at various events in San Francisco.