EYE is an art installation, directed by Lucas De Man and designed by Pascal Leboucq. The project consists of 5 enormous EYES hanging from different buildings throughout the city. EYE was designed as a reaction to the crumbling social cohesion that challenges cities today. With EYE Lucas and Pascal humanize the anonymous city by giving it eyes and offering visitors new perspectives on urban life and society.
Each EYE seats one visitor at a time, hanging inside the installation outside a building. As the visitor looks through the open pupil over the city, the installation invites them to look closer. Then the pupil closes. EYE becomes an audio-visual theatrical experience in which you are encouraged to see the city, the other and yourself from a different perspective. This cross-discipline art project combines a unique experience performance with animation and sound in stunning visual design.
No more anonymity, back to humanity
EYE was designed as a reaction to the crumbling social cohesion that challenges cities today. This undoing of the social glue causes anonymity in public space, which affects the character of our shared habitat, the City. A city without people engaging, connecting and sharing is a city without a soul. Lucas humanizes the city, literally, by giving it eyes. Visitors are given a moment to observe their own, very personal vulnerability and the possibility to share this with others in public space.
EYE premiered in ’s-Hertogenbosch in 2014. The project was made in Brabant, The Netherlands, coproduced by Company New Heroes, Het Zuidelijk Toneel, ’s-Hertogenbosch and BKKC in collaboration with many other partners and sponsors.
EYE caught international attention too. Images of the EYES were shared on twitter over 13,400 times and EYE was blogged about in 19 online magazines across 10 countries including famous websites such as Wired, pfsk and Archilovers.
EYE has since travelled to Tilburg (NL) in 2015 and Mechelen (BE) in 2016 and Amsterdam in 2018.
Credits
Concept: Lucas De Man
Design: Pascal Leboucq
Animation: JanJoost Verhoef
Music: Marc Alberto
Producers: Stichting Nieuwe Helden en Het Zuidelijk Toneel
