Urballoon, by Carlos J. Gómez de Llarena, is an urban media space: a balloon equipped with a projector and wireless connection to the web that enables people to submit content online and broadcast it in public spaces. Share your thoughts or media with people near the balloon by submitting materials from this site. Submissions are now being accepted to be projected during the Interference exhibition at Eyebeam from September 27- November 26, 2007.

Urballoon is located in open urban spaces frequented by pedestrians at sunset and night (e.g. plazas, parks). The ball is tethered and floats at a height of approximately 3 stories. The images and text submitted via this site are projected directly below it. By accessing www.urballoon.com people can send text or images which will be queued and shown by the balloon in the order received onto the street. On the website, an archive of all submissions can also be browsed.

The project aims to create a parallel experience between urban and information spaces. Balloons filled with air are also filled with data: the body of air inside Urballoon becomes a metaphor of the content in the website. The globe displays the project’s URL, becoming site in physical and digital contexts.

Our conventional understanding of the urban condition and the distinction between private and public space has been blurred by the evolution of technology. Generation and distribution of mass media are also models undergoing a radical transformation. Urballoon is a probe being introduced into the flows of our current urbanity. This experimental architecture seeks to juxtapose emerging notions of mobility, P2P networking, syndication and blogging with traditional uses of social space, broadcasting and outdoor advertising. A political underpinning of the project is established by the commitment to exercise free uncensored speech, empowering citizens to seize it as an urban broadcasting channel.

Carlos J. Gómez de Llarena is engaged in exploring models in which digital media shape our social relationships and our perception of spaces. He works with a diverse palette of tools including space, video, sound, wireless networks and programming. His work has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, Ars Electronica, Eyebeam, ZKM, ResFest and the Seoul Net Festival, among others. His background is in Architecture and Interactive Media. He currently lives in New York and works for the interactive agency R/GA as an Interaction Designer on the award-winning nikelab.com project. In September 2003, the Ars Electronica Prix honored Node Runner, a wireless game he co-created, with the prestigious Golden Nica for Net Vision. He also performs as a VJ on several venues in NY like Void, The Roxy and Arc.