Presence

by Marcus Lyall

Participants were invited to power an immense illuminated

‘echo chamber’

Time & Date

16th – 20th December (5pm – 9pm)

Location

Pedestrian underpass by Expressway
1 Dock Road
Royal Docks
E16 1AG & online

You were invited to Immerse yourself in light and sound as artist Marcus Lyall presented ‘Presence’, an outdoor, interactive laser and sound installation that reacted to visitor voices.

Presence was installed in a derelict area between the concrete columns underneath Silvertown Way in London’s Royal Docks, the installation could also be viewed online via livestream.

The work transformed a cavernous space into an immense illuminated ‘echo chamber’ filled by a laser light travelling through it. It responded uniquely to each sound and voice presented to it. Visitors were invited to engage with the work, activating it by singing, shouting or speaking into the void. These sounds are then amplified, reverberated, distorted and echoed as they travel back through the space.

Presence was commissioned by the Royal Docks as part of the Join the Docks Autumn Programme.

About Join the Docks
Join the Docks this autumn to discover 20 activities and events taking place online and across London’s historic Royal Docks. Between October through to December local residents are invited to explore events taking place in this unique part of east London and those from wider London and beyond can join in with everything taking place online.

With projects including live and digital theatre, light installations, photography exhibitions, film, performances through to music and dance workshops, community archiving, heritage projects and more - this is a programme to surprise and inspire audiences that should not be missed. The majority of events in this programme are free. Join the Docks this autumn and discover something different.

A full schedule of activities for Join the Docks Autumn Programme can be seen here: https://royaldocks.london/whats-on

MARCUS LYALL

London-based artist Marcus Lyall grew up in a house steeped in architecture, science fiction and hobby electronics and his work focuses around these forms, whilst also incorporating light, visuals, sound, lasers and images to transform underused places. Lyall is known for his extraordinary installations, which often involve user interaction, participation and the collection and transformation of visitors data.

Previous commissions include “On Your Wavelength” a site-specific installation in Canary Wharf that mapped human brain waves in light, and music and Scream the House Down where participants were invited to vocalise their inner frustrations to illuminate a four storey office building in London Bridge.

Marcus Lyall has created experimental film and interactive projects for the last 20 years. Starting with live film shows during the heady days of rave, he moved on to specialise in making visuals for large-scale concerts. He now works on a range of moving-image projects, from award-winning stage visuals for The Chemical Brothers, to Metallica’s feature film and directing a commercial starring Lionel Messi. He has created a number of artworks, which have been exhibited at galleries including the ICA, National Gallery of Australia, Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum and Science Museum, London.