The spider and dragon-horse duo from France, Kumo and Long Ma, awoke from their deep sleeps to roam the streets of Ottawa this summer and fulfill their final mission.
Kumo was perched on the roof of Notre Dame, waiting to pounce on his prey – at least that’s what I thought. In reality, Kumo’s descent was more of a slow climb than a pounce, which is understandable considering the amount of people who were gathered around the church and did not want to be crushed by a giant mechanical spider. The most interesting part was when a crane hovered 8 people above the spider, who lowered themselves down to take their places and start moving it.
Although the spider Kumo’s awakening had initially been somewhat underwhelming, the events that followed were not. Streets were closed to allow Kumo and his dragon-horse companion Long Ma to march through the city with a majestic view of Parliament Hill as their backdrop.
People crowded the sidewalks, outstretching their arms to try to take a photo of the giant arachnid as it slowly approached. The event was made even more dramatic by the live music that followed the spider along its path through the city. Musicians sat in another machine, towering above the crowds, playing their instruments. I suppose anyone playing in that band would have had to get over their fear of heights.
Long Ma was sleeping by City Hall, probably dreaming about flying through the heavens, his head so close you could reach out and touch it.
That evening, when it was already dark outside, crowds gathered around the Supreme Court to watch as Kumo and Long Ma finally met. Walking out onto Wellington and seeing people walking freely through the street, which would usually be full of traffic, was very surreal. Looking up Wellington in the direction of Parliament I saw that people were being blocked off from entering the area.
The crowds were very thick surrounding the machines, but we tried to get a peek at the action nonetheless. There were so many people that the closeness felt almost suffocating. An elderly woman next to us seemed like she might faint. After having enough of that, we, with some effort, pulled our way out of the crowd. The experience was a bit scary, because I understood that when you are in a crowd of that density, you can lose your independence of action and become part of a mass, that moves as one.
Altogether, La Machine was like nothing I had ever seen before, and I hope it will continue to thrive in the coming years and perhaps visit even more cities across the world. It will be one of the most memorable parts of Ottawa 2017.
-kati