Information Technology Reference
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Fig. 16.1
A screenshot of
The Invisible Pink Unicorns
, 2011, Les Liens Invisible, augmented
reality, copyright Les Liens Invisible. Description:
The Invisible Pink Unicorn
is suspended in air
over the Vatican Obelisk
great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and
pink at the same time. ”(Huberman
2007
) The goddess made her appearance as a
cyber-monument in Saint Peter's Square in Rome on April 23—Easter Day—2011.
The work demonstrates the illegal, unauthorized use of public space. Perhaps not
everyone knows that the eponymous square in front of Saint Peter's Basilica is not
located on Italian territory, as the Vatican City, home of Pope Francisco I, is an inde-
pendent state. It is also an undemocratic state, where protests and demonstrations of
any kind are strictly forbidden, a situation guaranteed by tight security.
The Invisible Pink Unicorn was chosen by the artists because it had become a
rallying point for activists, and in a certain sense 'illegal'.
Les Liens Invisibles' “ubiquitous monument” has prompted “an eternal reshape
of the Eternal City,” as the Internet everts out of itself and into reality. “A Monument
to the Invisible Pink Unicorn—which is a work and symbol of atheism, fervid
imagination and hope—has been permanently placed in the middle of the square
and all the passersby can now admire it through the comfortable viewer of their
smart-phones freely installing the popular Layar AR application.” (see Fig.
16.2
).
According to the authors, “the Invisible Unicorn is not a joke and it won't be
removed it from its current position. The virtual sculpture is 'real', (in)visible and
it has to be taken into serious consideration: it is the way a recontextualized symbol
