Gathering Hope
Gathering Hope is a basket of light that has been crafted to collect and reflect people's hopes and daydreams. Anyone can walk up to the basket and speak to it. It listens to those words, adding them to everyone else's, and gathers them together, sifting through for the words that repeat and resonate, collecting those shared dreams on the inside of the basket.
The basket listens to people using speech recognition. It then converts that speech into a light display woven into the willow structure, sending the person's words travelling around the basket for a few moments. As many people's words are collected over time it gathers the repeated words and phrases on the inside of the basket. By looking inside, people can see what is collectively shared.
Designed to reward a light interaction with a moment of reflection, and a sense of connection to others who have talked with the basket. It also rewards those that return to see how the words inside the basket shift over time.
The basket was woven and programmed over the course of a week in an open studio at East Quay in Watchet. People dropped in to watch the weaving process, learn about the technologies, and talk about the ambition of the project.
Gathering Hope is an art installation commissioned by the Onion Collective that combines traditional crafts, community outreach and action research.