The torrent of information we receive daily from our phones, tablets and computers washes away the few private moments we have to ourself. Deluge is an interactive installation by Anson the Ornery that uses light, sound and flowers to replicate the sensory overload we experience from being constantly connected to each other. Deluge opens July 28th in the Lawrence Art Center and will be on display until September 1st.
Deluge’s soft light pulsing among a hulking bouquet of silk yellow daffodils seen through the large street facing windows in the Lawrence Arts Center’s front gallery entice passersby to enter. The barrier of the storefront window glamorizes the silk daffodils, also called narcissus, but just like the images under the glass on a smartphone everything is not as it seems. Upon entering the gallery the fantasy is broken. The viewer is inundated by the artificial fragrance of daffodils, down feathers swirl underfoot, iridescent walls and a low rumble. Deluge is the embodiment of “too much of a good thing” overwhelming the viewer with a profusion of pleasant sensations. The over saturation of stimuli breaks down communication between the viewers, isolating each person in a public space. Social media has many great advantages such as dissemination of information but all that information can make one feel left out rather than empowered.
We have become a generation of voyeurs cutting ourselves off with the technology meant to bring us together. Deluge exposes social media as a fantasy, urging viewers to make intimate personal relationships by interacting with each other face to face.