The Portal is back.
The large webcam-like contraption that looks like the stargate from Stargate, and livestreams constantly between the cities of New York and Dublin has been captivating the hearts and minds of people across the transatlantic. Well, maybe “captivating” is a bit strong. “Mildly amusing” or “pleasantly diverting” might be more apt descriptors. The project, which was created by a Lithuanian artist, Benediktas Gylys, with help from a small team, has reportedly drawn tens of thousands of visitors since it went up about a week ago.
Popular as it is, the digital-physical interface was briefly deactivated last week, after a number of incidents in which people got just a little too rowdy with the weird art installation. In one instance, an OnlyFans creator lifted up her shirt and flashed a gawking crowd of Dubliners last week. There have also apparently been instances of “mooning,” cursing, and people sharing garish content with onlookers via their phones—stuff like videos of 9/11 and porn.
Amidst all the shenanigans, the Dublin City Council announced last week that it would be temporarily shutting down the interface until a solution to the “inappropriate” behavior could be conjured.
Now, less than a week later, the portal is back, and New Yorkers and Dubliners are free, once again, to stare at each other endlessly through the goofy art installation’s futuristic surface. However, there are some new time limitations on when people can use the portal, the Dublin City Council has announced.
“The Portal will have specific hours of operation for the coming weeks with the livestream running daily from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM in New York City and 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM in Dublin,” the council said, in a newly published statement.
Portals.org, the organization behind the project, has also instituted new safeguards to make sure nobody steps on or obscures the camera attached to it. A newly implemented “proximity-based solution” will now blur the portal’s surface if anyone attempts to obscure the camera, the Dublin City Council said.
My guess? The shenanigans that got the portal deactivated will continue. It’s only human nature to want to take something like this and screw with it. The creators of the project should give up on trying to moderate what people do and just accept that some percentage of the people who happen across the project are going to use it to titillate, annoy, and/or otherwise fuck with the people standing on the other side of it. The “hall monitor” approach is doomed to fail. Embrace the debauchery and weirdness now.