Passages is a public space installation that aims to connect intimately people in different cities. This installation presents the random passer-by with a moving and transiting experience where he/she has to engage the entire body to uncover the possibilities of a relationship with a stranger.

Inspiration for Passages comes from early 20th century writings about the arcades of Paris, notably by Walter Benjamin and by Surrealists like Louis Aragon. For these writers, the passage became a metaphor of the urban poetry for wandering, meeting strangers, falling in love, travelling...

As an installation, Passages is situated in two different locations connected with each other via a network. A vertical translucent interaction surface, made of glass and textile and recalling a shop window, is set in each location. As a random passer-by walks in front of this surface, the contour of his/her silhouette is reflected in a visual style that evokes drawing or sketching.

This silhouette uncovers as a mask what is happening at the other location, possibly the silhouette of another person standing there. As the local participant moves, more of the remote scene is exposed. The body incarnated in a silhouette becomes the interface for a playful encounter and communication with a stranger in a far away place.

With Passages, we wish to explore the possibilities and outcomes of being more emotionally and physically engaged in a media space: by incorporating elements of a private space in a public urban space; by enabling a heightened sense of proximity and intimacy; by using the body and its movement as an interface; by connecting strangers from different places and cultures.