It didn’t take long for issues to arise with the new public sculptures. Less than a week after the debut of two sculptures in Dublin, Ireland, and New York City featuring a livestream between the two cities, "inappropriate behavior" during real-time interactions has led to a temporary shutdown.
The sculptures, called "The Portals," are round, lens-like installations with a 24/7 video link to allow residents and visitors in the two cities to interact. Videos on social media have shown people engaging in inappropriate behavior, such as flashing body parts, to those on the other side. The installation does not include audio.
The creators of the sculptures are now looking into technical solutions to address the behavior. The Dublin City Council stated that they had hoped to have a solution in place but the preferred solution, which would have involved blurring, was not satisfactory. The team behind the sculptures, Portals.org, is exploring other options.
The City Council planned to switch off the live stream temporarily and expected to turn it on again later in the week. Despite this setback, the Council expressed delight at the global interest in the Portal, noting that the majority of people interacting with it had behaved appropriately.
In New York, where protocols were already in place to prevent inappropriate behavior, the Portal will be turned off for a few days as additional solutions are considered. The Portals project was designed to expand global connections and promote inclusivity, according to Daithí de Róiste, Dublin's Lord Mayor. He highlighted the historical and cultural bond between the two cities and encouraged people to interact with the sculpture to extend an Irish welcome to cities around the world.
The Portals project is part of Dublin's events for its 2024 EU Capital of Smart Tourism Designation. This isn’t the first real-time bridge between cities through these sculptures; the first Portals linked Vilnius, Lithuania, with Lublin, Poland, in 2021.