moradavaga’s giant yellow characters are acoustically interconnected in square in sweden

moradavaga’s Hej främling! activate square in sweden

 

A family of giant, friendly, yellow characters made of corrugated plastic tubes stand among the crowd in the Våghustorget square in Örebro, Sweden, bringing together visitors in a playful way. The interactive public art installation Hej främling! (Hey stranger!) has been conceived by design collective Moradavaga for the 2022 edition of OpenArt, Scandinavia’s largest contemporary art event, activating the busy square in a ‘provocative’ way. Working as an interconnected analogue acoustic system, Hej främling! encourages communication between strangers and friends alike, through a connected system of pipes that allow visitors to speak to one other from one end of the square to the other.

all images courtesy of Moradavaga

 

 

a family of acoustically interconnected yellow characters

 

Moradavaga’s installation presents an ensemble of acoustically interconnected, cartoon-like characters which occupy Våghustorget, one of the city’s busier squares. Built mainly out of corrugated yellow plastic tubes, the figures appear as ‘a colorful group or family of funny foreigners, that could be seen as friendly aliens from outer space, or blown-out-of-proportion bugs with human expressions’.

 

In an ongoing exploration of the ‘string phone’, the design collective here too employs a similar strategy to allow visitors to communicate with one another from opposing ends of the square through the characters. Presenting an alternative interactive and provocative strategy to activate public spaces, the concept establishes an analogical communicational game. Echoing the childhood tin can telephone device with a connecting string or wire, Hej främling! allows visitors to converse with one another through the large weaving pipes, and the figures’ mouths and eyes. Stranger and friends are encouraged to interact, engage in entertaining conversation, and form new acquaintances through the installation.

the yellow friendly “främlingar” in Örebro

 

 

 

speaking to one of the eyes of the thin ‘främlingar’

“Hej främling!” by Moradavaga conceived for the 2022 edition of OpenArt

interactive and provocative: alternative strategies to activate public space

the piece works as an analogue acoustic system for communication between strangers and friends alike

from one end to the other, each person can speak and hear

an exciting experience for all age groups

OpenArt is a biennial of contemporary art on public space in the city of Örebro in Sweden

“Hej främling!” by Moradavaga interacting with the existing urban setting

 

 

project info:

 

name: Hej främling!
designer: Moradavaga

location: Örebro, Sweden

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: ravail khan | designboom