Irja Linnerud

WILL WE ALIGN? is an interactive light installation inspired by dynamics from quantum communication created to invite exploration of an unknown system. It uses colored light as a visual language for directions, states and relationships. In this installation, the two central light sources are “entangled”: when one changes so does the other. This behavior is inspired by quantum entanglement, a phenomenon that challenges our everyday understanding of connection, and forms one basis of emerging quantum communication technologies.

The work uses these principles as a starting point for a broader question: how, if at all, do we engage with technologies and systems that are difficult to see, understand or influence?

WILL WE ALIGN? Is my attempt at peeking into the world of quantum technologies and, by creating a felt understanding for myself, inviting others to join in this search. Through rotatable countertops the installation offers an interface for exploration: to search for patterns, understanding and alignment.

Quantum technologies are often presented as highly specialized and inaccessible, while they are becoming a part of the systems that shape our lives. If we want to participate in conversations about how these technologies are developed, used and for whom they are built, we first need points of entry. With this work I am not claiming full expertise of quantum communication. I’m claiming interest, and the belief that interest is enough to begin.