Artist Statement

Technology has brought us great knowledge, but it is our self-awareness around our engagement with it that can shape our co-evolution. me+you is created through combined strengths, as an enduring cultural artifact of collective balance and a symbol of the power of the individual in shaping that balance.

Visitors are invited to speak a single word describing their future into the "mandalas" or clusters of lights at the center of the installation. Using open source AI technology, the artwork reflects back a unique kinetic mandala as a reflection of the word, based on the emotion that both the word and the speaker's voice indicate. Visitors' collective vision for the future is also displayed as a constantly evolving digital artifact on three screens that form the backdrop of the physical work, a metaphor of balance between individual agency and collective responsibility.

me+you highlights the emotional quality of human engagement with our context. It stems from a belief in the power of art and design to generate equity in our culture through the quality of the experiences we create, and the wellbeing and sense of connection and agency that they can amplify and foster.

me+you is on view in Michigan Central’s South Concourse through December 2024. The sculpture is fabricated with the skill and expertise of Workspace 11, located in Powerhouse Arts.

This digital experience is designed with Hovercraft Studio, with music by Sacha Mendel.

Michigan Central Station

Michigan Central is an innovation district located between the historic neighborhoods of Corktown and Southwest Detroit. Anchored by a vibrant and inclusive 30-acre campus, this growing community serves as a powerful convening place and a call-to-action to build the urban transportation solutions that advance a more sustainable, equitable future.

Featuring a state-of-the-art mobility hub, retail, multiple outdoor plazas, and 1.2 million square feet of commercial public space, Michigan Central aims to attract local and global visitors alike, spur economic development and jobs, and organize investment in new technologies. Our world is facing large, complex challenges, and we believe that no one company can solve these challenges alone. That is why we adopted an open-platform model that connects start-ups with established companies, government entities, and innovators to collaborate and fast-track solutions.

Building on Detroit’s rich history as an engine of change, design and innovation, Michigan Central is also deeply committed to strengthening our city through involving residents in the conversation and helping Detroiters learn the skills they need to land the in-demand jobs of the innovation economy.

Suchi Reddy

Born and raised in Chennai, India, artist and architect Suchi Reddy immigrated to the United States at 18. Traveling the country and living, and working in eight states, Reddy developed a keen sense for the similarities and differences that bind communities together. Her artistic practice takes root in her architectural training with its expression as public sculpture and experiential work. She tackles issues of societal engagement using art and experience to create discourse around subjects with both local and global relevance. Her work engages material innovation and interactive technologies in the service of expressing ideas around the power of community.

A distinguished alumna of the School of Architecture + Community Development at the University of Detroit Mercy, in 2002, she founded her award-winning New York-based firm, Reddymade. The firm’s guiding principle is "form follows feeling," a design ethos informed by neuroaesthetics, the study of how the brain responds to the design of our surroundings. Reddy serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board at Detroit Mercy School of Architecture + Community Development and she is a 2023 Spirit of Detroit Mercy: Alumni Achievement Award recipient and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at GSAPP at Columbia University.