What happens when strangers connect?
Light Hearted is a giant interactive LED heart that only comes to life through human contact. Two barriers sit just beyond the reach of one person alone. To illuminate the heart, visitors must work together, holding hands to complete the circuit. Every new connection creates a unique burst of colour and light; when the chain is broken, the heart gently fades once more.
Inspired by the spectacle of the fairground, this playful installation transforms cooperation into a shared experience. Part artwork, part attraction and part social experiment, Light Hearted invites friends, families and strangers alike to create moments of connection, joy and wonder.
Simple, accessible and magical, it’s an experience for everyone aged 4 to 104.
This activity is part of b-side festival 2026 – That Other Place.
This year’s festival theme, “That Other Place,” draws inspiration from the Isle of Portland’s proud oddness, the now-defunct Portland Fair, and local resident David Palmer’s extraordinary Fair archives.
In 2026, b-side are bringing this to life through artists and communities bringing back their interpretation of the Fair alongside ambitious, year-long artist projects rooted in the island.
The Portland Fair was a hugely popular event for more than 200 years – part childhood rite, part otherworldly escape – That Other Place will reawaken the experience of it in a stranger, twistier, sideways sort of way.
