Lightswitch Reimagines The Pink Triangle as Light Display for Pride 2020

	Photo: Christopher Michel

This June, Pride in the Bay Area took place under the light of an enormous, glowing pink triangle among the hills of Twin Peaks. The installment is the latest iteration of Patrick Carney's The Pink Triangle, a reclamation of the symbol once sewn onto Nazi concentration camp prisoners' garments to identify them as gay. Lightswitch worked with The Pink Triangle and concept creators Illuminate to reimagine the fabric memorial into a light display spanning one acre, comprised of pink-hued, programmable LED lights. The emotional power of the installment feels particularly poignant this year, as Pride parades and ceremonies were cancelled due to COVID-19, and the Black Lives Matter movement as well as attacks on trans healthcare rights called for Pride to return to its roots as a protest.

The Pink Triangle was first installed in 1995, under the cover of night. Co-founder Carney evaded officials by secretly covering a portion of Twin Peaks in a pink triangle made of fabric. Decades later, the project has grown into a team of hundreds of volunteers covering Twin Peaks with pink tarps over 200' across. The Pink Triangle's emblazoned position on the hill presides over the Pride parade and festivities. Its installation is both a message of solidarity and hope for the LGBTQ+ members, as well as a call to the public to never forget the atrocities committed against the community during the Holocaust.

Past versions of The Pink Triangle have taken hundreds of volunteers to construct -- a feat not possible with the large-gathering restrictions of COVID-19. Still, Carney was determined to erect The Pink Triangle, even if he had to put it up with just a few family members. But in March, Carney got a call from Ben Davis of Illuminate with a proposal for a new, lit version of the triangle. Illuminate is a well-known art installation firm that uses lighting as its primary medium and has constructed several high-profile projects across the Bay Area. Although in past years floodlights have been pointed at the installation to light it from the outside, this would be the first year that the triangle would be its own light, shining out for miles across the area.

The entire project was executed within the short timeframe of three months, from concept to illumination. Lightswitch worked with Illuminate to create content for The Pink Triangle, enabling the display to go beyond static light and instead be programmed for a number of subtly shifting organic sequences. Our programming was run through a Resolume Media Server provided by Tony Mann and Brandon Ball of Atom Fire Studios, and executed through LED lights from Theresa Li and Daryl Wong from C Bright Lighting.

While The Pink Triangle was originally slated to run through July 10, the last day of the 23rd International AIDS Conference, the installment's enormous success and magnificent display might lead to a longer tenure in Twin Peaks. Whatever its final term-length over the Bay Area, this year's Pink Triangle has been one for the books. Lightswitch was honored to be part of this long-standing memorial in Twin Peaks, and to join the team shining a very important light during dark times.