It feels very close, but is actually thousands of kilometers away: two circular portals recently connected the cities of Dublin and New York via livestream. The artwork is actually intended to give a realistic view of the other city – and it initially worked quite well: people waved to each other or played ‘rock, paper, scissors’ from a distance. But after a number of unsavory incidents, the windows to the other world have been turned off for the time being.
Only when a solution has been found to prevent abuse can the installation be switched on again, the Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported on Wednesday. “Everyone should think of a seven-year-old child who is in New York and wants to experience something, who wants to connect with Dublin and wave to the people there,” artist Benediktas Gylys had said. “It’s certainly about us as people creating the artwork together, but we also have to make sure it’s family-friendly.”
Boobs, porn, naked asses
However, there were several incidents that weren’t so family-friendly: a woman in New York showed off her breasts, and in the Irish capital a man showed off his bare bottom. Some people held up their cell phones showing pornography or the September 11, 2001, attack.
In Dublin the work is located in one of the main streets of the metropolis, in New York in the middle of Manhattan next to the famous Flatiron building.
The majority behaved correctly
Dublin City Council had previously said it was pleased that many people had used the portal since its launch last week. “It has become a global phenomenon and it is important to note that an overwhelming majority of people interacting with the Dublin portal have behaved appropriately.”
This is the second installation of this kind. A first portal has been connecting the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and the Polish city of Lublin for about two and a half years. In New York and Dublin, however, the new artwork receives considerably more attention. Millions of people of Irish descent live in the US.
Source: Krone
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