during 2019’s distortion ø festival in copenhagen, kaja haven conceived and built ‘laser cat‘ to watch over the 5-day music event. marking the artist’s largest installation to date, the giant white persian cat was envisioned to sit on top of the festival’s distinctive shipping containers. designed as a large temporary sculpture and scenographic object by day – a fluttering contrast to the rough, industrial aesthetic of the festival – then transforming into a lighthouse point and party animal at night.

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © kaja haven  (main image © tim staugaard)

 

 

the installation, which was on display during the music festival from may 31st to june 2nd 2019, measured approximately 9 x 2 x 4 meters in scale. to construct the aptly named ‘laser cat’, haven utilized a combination of 6mm and 8mm steel to build the structure then covered it with nine thousand white plastic bags. to illuminate the sculpture at night, the cat had laser light machines and wifi installed in its head. positioned next to the techno tunnel stage on the site, the work acted as a light installation in between the festival stages.

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © christian tesa

 

 

kaja haven is a copenhagen based, norwegian, multidisciplinary artist working in the fields of scenography, sound and space, often creating a blurred line between fantasy and real life. the artist was educated from the royal danish academy of fine arts school of architecture in 2016 and works across a breadth of unique projects.

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © kaja haven

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © kaja haven

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © kaja haven

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © kaja haven

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © laura loana

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © tim staugaard

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom  

image © tim staugaard

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival designboom

image © laura loana

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival

image © tim staugaard

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival   

image © laura loana

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival

image © kasper holm jensen

kaja haven builds a giant persian cat with laser machine eyes for copenhagen festival

image © kaja haven

 

 

project info:

 

project name: ‘laser cat’

location: distortion ø festival, copenhagen, denmark

design, art & production: kaja haven

 

special thanks to: tone enot, peter zernichov, reidar upsaker and VG1 industrial production at mandal VGS, the distortion volunteers, anders (the crane) andersen, yang, peter, alix, frederik, will, lilia, ditte, bjarke, teit jakobsen

laser machines: tim staugaard and christian tesa

distortion ø production: rolf kronborg, noa skovdal, christina dvinge and nicklas wesche

photography: kasper holm jensen, laura loana, marie mckensie, tim staugaard and kaja haven