Ring of Fire
Love, is a burning thing…
Ring of Fire (RoF) is a collaboration between Kelsey Wildstone and Mattress Thibault as part of the Wildstone Arts collective. The piece was built for Pacific Fire Gathering (PFG) in 2018, with a goal of scaling up to a larger system of flame effects. Ring of Fire features an array of individually controlled flame effects that can be activated by audience members, to produce delightful fireballs at the press of a button. Besides being interactive, the piece is designed to create an ambiance of fire and light, as a backdrop for fire performance and dance.
Flexibility to suit many installations
The Ring of Fire project’s torches are each built with 20ft long whips, and so are able to accommodate many different layout designs. Matt and Kelsey each have five torches and can bring them together at some festivals. In a rectangle configuration with two rows of five torches, the project is then 80ft long. However, they can also be placed directly next to each other, which also eliminates any concerns of dealing with the hoses and lines.
There is one fuel depot for every 5 torches, and 5 torches can go through 200 pounds of propane in a night.
The control boxes have automatic, Arduino (computer) controlled sequences, but they can also be manually controlled to make interesting percussive music.
Special Thanks to Vitz Photos for the photos on this page (as indicated by watermark)
and to performers; some of whom can be found at: The Fractal Phase