Large-scale Julius Popp installation, Bit.Fall was unveiled Tuesday in Garden Court at Pacific Place, the latest in a series of art displays in local shopping centres marking this month’s Arts Program.

Swire Properties has collaborated with Julius Popp to exhibit his work Bit.Fall to Hong Kong for the first time.

A pioneering multimedia work that combines technology and engineering, Bit.Fall uses a unique algorithm connected to the internet in real time to look for popular buzzwords through different newsfeed channels, which are then displayed as words through hundreds of water droplets in a curtain of water. New words form constantly, legible for only a fraction of a second before they disappear. The water droplets and the title of the work, referring to the ‘bit’, the smallest unit of digital information, references the transient nature of information, the rate at which it is rapidly disseminated, and its short lifespan.

The structure, made up of 30ft shipping containers, is inspired by the Tower of Babel, a mythical construction that notoriously failed because of language barriers. The containers are symbolic of globalisation and the exchange throughout the world of goods, information, opinions and cultural values, that have resulted in language barriers being overcome.

Bit.Fall has enjoyed widespread international critical acclaim and previously made its way to leading international institutions such as MoMa in New York and Australia’s Museum of Old and New Art, as well as being installed at the London Olympics in 2012.

The Julius Popp installation has been brought to Pacific Place as part of Swire Properties’ long-standing commitment to the arts in Hong Kong, and coincides with the company’s fifth year sponsoring Art Basel in Hong Kong.

Julius Popp says he has enjoyed watching people respond to Bit.Fall in the mall environment.

“In a museum the space surrounding an artwork is always controlled, and visitors expect to see art, here in Pacific Place the selection of people viewing the work is varied and uncontrolled, it offers a completely different exposure for the work, and each interaction is its own experience and journey. It is exciting to be part of enabling art to part of the everyday lives of Hong Kongers.’’