Right in the center of an invisible circle between London, Paris and Brussels, the city of Lille’s heart is sure to pound throughout the Lille3000 FANTASTIC 2012 festival.  The festival curated by Caroline David from the 6th of October 2012 till the 13th of January 2013, will host hundreds of events and numerous exhibitions. 'Metamorphoses in public space' is one chapter of this art celebration where twenty different international artists have created memorable installations. The LOTUS DOME by Dutch artist and architect Daan Roosegaarde is one of them.

The LOTUS DOME is made out of hundreds aluminum folded flowers which unfold in response to human behavior. Positioned in the shadowy interior of the Sainte Marie Madeleine Church, the flower leaves remain motionless, that is up until a visitor approaches. Initially, they open up one after the other, letting their light glow from inside. This motion multiplies; as more and more viewers come closer and the ‘organism’ that is the large silver dome takes on a more dynamic form. As they walk around it, the light of the invisible, almost living creature, breathing in and out, obediently follows them around, casting intricate reflections around the dark church’s walls.

The question we have to ask then, is: Are you still wondering where the heart of Lille will be beating right through to the 13th of January, 2013?

> In a world moving from analog to digital, I am interested in what happens when technology intrudingly leaps out of a the computer screen onto our walls and into our bodies and urban landscapes to create poetry…….where physical space becomes immaterial.<
Daan Roosegaarde