Edge of See: Twilight Engines

Part of an ambitious global project by artist Vishal K. Dar, Edge of See: Twilight Engines uses site-specific light sculptures viewed through an augmented reality app to push our senses of vision, scale, motion, and time. Dar brings his primary question—what is the edge of sight?—to the landscape of the Marin Headlands, using technology to overlay former artillery batteries with abstract light sculptures, or “engines,” that spin, turn, and tumble in response to the environment. In addition, in Project Space at Headlands, Dar has installed wooden architectural models of the batteries, also activated through the augmented reality app, as well as maps, sketches, and video work.

Get the free app here

Site-specific augmented reality light sculptures
Beginning January 20, 2019
Viewable at Batteries Mendell, Wallace, and Smith-Guthrie in the Marin Headlands
Free and open to the public; visit the Golden Gate National Recreation Area website for park hours
iOS smartphone or tablet required to view sculptures—see below for details

Project Space installation
January 20–March 3, 2019
Sunday–Thursday, 12–5PM
Free and open to the public

This site-specific work was commissioned by Headlands Center for the Arts and was germinated when Dar was an Artist in Residence here in 2017. The first installation of Edge of See launched in November 2018 in Lulea, Sweden; upcoming installations are planned for Delft Island, Sri Lanka; Okinawa, Japan; and the Diomede Islands, situated in the Bering Strait between Russia and the United States. The app was created with Bay Area–based technology partner Okaynokay (Gabriel Dunne and Ryan Alexander).

To Experience Edge of See: Twilight Engines

• Download the augmented reality app on your GPS-enabled iPhone or iPad (see technical specs below). Click here or search “Twilight Engines” in the App Store.
  • Before you come to the Marin Headlands (highly recommended)
  • At Headlands Main Building 944
• Stop by Headlands Main Building 944 to pick up a site map and visit Dar’s gallery installation in Project Space
• Down a site map in advance. Click here
• Head out to use the augmented reality app in situ at Batteries Mendell, Wallace, and Smith-Guthrie
  • Locations are accessible from Headlands by car or on foot, and are walking distance from each other
  • Visiting all three batteries from Headlands Center for the Arts on foot takes approximately 1.5 hours hiking on paved and dirt paths.
  • Remember, you can only see the light sculptures using the augmented reality app on your GPS-enabled iOS mobile device. There is no cellphone reception or WiFi at the sites, so you must download the app before you go.
• The batteries are located within the Marin Headlands, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; visit the Park website for hours.
• Most parking lots in the Park close at sunset; evening parking is available at the Headlands Center for the Arts parking lot on Rosenstock Road.
• Don’t have an Apple phone or tablet? Visit Project Space to experience the augmented reality light sculptures on iPads provided in the gallery.

Technical requirements
The augmented reality app is compatible with iPhones and iPads running iOS 12 or later. The following models are supported: iPhone SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, and XS Max; iPad 5^th generation, 6^th generation, and Pro.

Above: Vishal K. Dar, Twilight Engines (sketch), 2018; © Vishal K. Dar