Designs

Originality and creativity of the idea

In 2018, I did a 10-month Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training. I wanted to connect my meditation knowledge to the current threat of nuclear war. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Western world rushed to Ukraine's aid. To stop it, Russia threatened to go nuclear. Fears of nuclear war have been reactivated. How can we grasp something so huge, so fearful and so destructive? My answer in Cosmic Dancer lies in one small particle of nuclear energy - one drop of water. How, by paying attention to the part, we can grasp the vast. This installation is a meditative experience that invites visitors to pay attention to the senses, the sensory system and the mind-body-soul connection and to reflect on the cycles of death and rebirth. How can we move away from apathy and fear and instead find peace.

Definition of the problem and the relevance of the applied solutions

Since the discovery of quantum mechanics and the detonation of the first atomic bomb in 1945, humanity has lived in a nuclear age that alternately inspires fear and apathy as the end of the world approaches. We need to understand not only our individual death, but also the death of the community. Cosmic Dancer is a meditative experience that invites visitors to pay attention to the senses and the mind-body-soul connection and to reflect on the cycles of death and rebirth. The Shiva statue serves as an artistic metaphor for the exploration of subatomic particles and the "cosmic dance" that embodies the dance of life itself, including the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. This installation links the past, the present and looks into our future: the knowledge of a millennia-old meditation with the current acute political tensions and the culmination of humanity's achievements in knowledge - the atomic bomb.

Co-creation, stakeholder involvement and cooperation during the realisation process

The project is a Cum Laude Master Thesis for the Contextual Design Programme at the Design Academy of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. During the project, six interviews were conducted, asking questions related to the nature of light, scientific advances and nuclear dangers: IVANA NIKOLIC HUGHES, Director of Frontiers in Science and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Associate Director of the K1 Project, Columbia University Nuclear Research Center, New York ANDAL NARAYANAN, Professor of Light and Matter Physics, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India BODHI SIRI, monk at Mahamevnava Buddhist Monastery Lp Sander Khemadhammo is a monk of the Dhammakaya Foundation Prof dr. Florian Schreck is a Professor at the Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, specialising in experimental quantum physics. NADAV BEN AMI, Optics Research and Development - Tel Aviv University

Functionality and technological solutions

The 120cm diamter glass bowl was cast using the glass slip technique, which melts the glass and allows it to set into a spherical shape until the desired depth is reached. A powerful light body is placed under the glass, which projects the water's movements upwards. A single point of electricity is needed to charge the battery. The movement of the water is created by the force of a single drop of water falling from above the upper hemisphere. The output of this water vessel is regulated so that the water drop is regular. Both the rhythmic sound and the visual effect of the explosion become a mantra that is an aid to meditation. To keep the fabric in a hemispherical shape, the pvc tubes are curved to form a light and strong structure - 3.5m D. The fabric is pulled over the pvc tubes with pockets provided for them. The structure is easy to unfold, fold and carry.

Aesthetics and other experiential dimensions

The spatial organisation of the circle reflects the cyclical nature of life. At the top is a hemisphere projecting light with the movement of water, and at the bottom is a glass hemisphere with water, both hemispheres representing the splitting of the atom (from the Greek "atomos": "indivisible"). The eight meditation cushions and the facets of the dome represent infinity, the mats are placed in the symbol of the sign of radiation. Four candles are placed around the element of fire and are made of melted wax injected into water, where heat embraces cold. Using the lost wax casting technique, aluminium and bronze moulds are designed to encase the paraffin candles, embodying elemental forces and cyclical transformations of different states of matter. The force of nature and the passage of time become artistic tools, capturing fleeting moments transformed into bronze or aluminium sculptures.

Economic significance, sustainability and circularity

This installation was created with individual funds, without additional funding, with the idea that it could be installed again and again anywhere in the world. This installation can be expanded or reduced to meet the needs of a future function. Cosmic Dancer was exhibited as part of the Dutch Design Week 21-29 October 2023 and the installation was continuously full of people. This just goes to show how important calming and meditative installations are in today's stressful environment. Recommendations from visitors and professionals see this installation in corperative settings as a quiet space, in public settings (indoor and outdoor), at health and meditation events, creative environment festivals and as an object for private individuals (could be developed as a product).

Social relevance, inclusion, availability and accessibility

The human sensory system, which includes the senses of touch, sight and hearing, is activated by cyclic changes in the element and its various states of matter. By paying attention to a part, we can grasp the whole. When the part of the brain where the self and orientation in space are deactivated, we can begin to merge with the rest of the environment and experience oneness. Man is 90% water and anyone can resonate with this element.
Cosmic Dancer is a spiritual, temporary installation for the environment that can travel around the world and be accessible to people of all ages, with all types of belief systems.

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