The Dunnage Ball, part of Santa Monica's Glow Festival, served as an interactive geometric activity generator, designed to encourage free play and public interaction.

The installation was composed of 30 dunnage bags, inexpensive recyclable balloons used in the shipping industry to stabilize loads for transport.  We modified the bags allowing them to be tied together into an icosahedron. The bags were brought to the beach in a single car-load and inflated with a portable air compressor. At dawn, the entire assembly was packed-up, ready to be reused.

The Dunnage Ball’s glowing presence on the sand in Santa Monica cast a magnetic attraction over adults and children alike. Climbing inside, the interior space was both energizing as it reacted to the human body and meditative in the purity of its glowing geometry. It was inspiring to observe the public freely explore individual and collective ways to occupy the Dunnage Ball, as they entertained themselves and engaged with each other.