A public sculpture in Dublin, billed as a real-time visual bridge between the Irish capital and New York, has been suspended after a week due to “inappropriate behaviour” by users.
The sculpture’s designers are “investigating possible technical solutions to the inappropriate behavior of a small minority of people in front of the portal”, Dublin City Council (DCC) stated.
Each sculpture features a 24/7 live visual feed from the other city’s portal, allowing real-time interaction between people on both ends.
“Inappropriate” acts by the public
A viral video posted on social media showed people from both cities showing parts of their bodies and a person from Dublin showing an image of the September 11, 2001 attack in New York.
The Dublin end of the “Portal”, located next to the city’s main artery, O’Connell Street, was turned off late this Tuesday (05/14/2024), according to the local authority.
“Unfortunately, the preferred solution, which would have been to blur the image, was not satisfactory,” he added. Designers were working on “possible technical solutions,” the statement added.
The sculpture, which was scheduled to operate until autumn of this year, could be turned on again “at the end of this week”, the city council said, without giving further details.
“It is important to note that the vast majority of people who have interacted with the Dublin Portal have behaved appropriately.”
Ahead of its unveiling on May 8, Dublin Mayor Daithi de Roiste said he would “encourage Dubliners and visitors to the city to come and interact with the sculpture and extend the Irish welcome and friendliness to cities across the world”.
On its opening day, the city said it planned to connect the Dublin gateway with its counterparts in Poland, Brazil and Lithuania in the coming months.
FEW (AFP, EFE)
