Paris Bikes Lights - 2009

"Paris Bike Lights" is a poetic physical & digital artwork.
The work consists of a majestic living Sculpture displayed outdoors in the center of Paris and an Exhibition. It is located in Paris but can be reproduced in any city with a shared bike system, adapted to the number of stations.
Sculpture - In Paris, the sculpture is a vertical square (the sculpture can be placed on a building facade) of 138 Vélib' headlights per side (+/- 8m per side in dimension), totaling 19,044 headlights (the approximate number of Vélib' bikes in Paris and surrounding cities). Each headlight is connected in real-time to a Vélib' docking station. Each headlight is lit if its station is empty. It is off if its station is occupied by a Vélib'. The sculpture breathes to the rhythm of Parisians' efforts, from a few minutes to a few hours for each light, depending on the duration of the trips.
Exhibition - The exhibition explores the usage data collected by Vélib' and takes advantage of the peculiarities of the big data to highlight poetic stories: The two Vélib' that always travel together - The Vélib' that never moves - The one that, on the contrary, has traveled the greatest number of kilometers - The one that has traveled through the districts of Paris in order - The one that has never left the sixteenth arrondissement - The one that has never crossed the périphérique - ...
Happening - The opening of the exhibition gives Parisians the opportunity to take all the Vélibs' out of their stations to light up the entire sculpture. A score can also be given to them to create patterns, some in the space invaders mode for example.

Vélib' Square - GPT4

Here is a still version of the "Paris Bike Lights" sculpture simulation, using round pixels to represent each Vélib' headlight. You have to imagine for yourself the animation showing the dynamic nature of bike usage in real-time, with each round pixel changing its state, scintillating, based on whether a bike is present or absent at its corresponding station.