Because of obscenities

“Live portal” from New York to Dublin shut down

Not all passers-by used the live portal across the Atlantic just to wave at the camera.(Bild: AP/Seth Wenig)

It feels very close, but is actually thousands of kilometers away: two circular portals have recently connected the cities of Dublin and New York via live stream. The artwork is actually intended to provide a real view of the other city - and at first it worked quite well: people waved to each other or played "rock, paper, scissors" at a distance. But after several distasteful incidents, the windows to the other world have been switched off again for the time being.

The Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported on Wednesday that the installation would only be switched back on once a solution had been found as to how abuse could be avoided. "Everyone should think of a seven-year-old child who is in New York and wants to experience something, who wants to connect with Dublin and wave to the people there," said artist Benediktas Gylys. "Definitely it's about us people creating the artwork together, but we need to make sure it's family friendly as well."

We have to make sure it's also family-friendly.

Künstler Benediktas Gylys

Breasts, porn, bare bottoms
However, there were several incidents that were not so family-friendly: A woman in New York showed her breasts, in the Irish capital a man presented his bare bottom. Some people held their cell phones up to the camera, showing pornography or the September 11, 2001 attack.

In Dublin, the work stands on one of the main streets of the metropolis, in New York in the middle of Manhattan next to the famous Flatiron building.

Majority acted appropriately
Dublin City Council had previously expressed its delight that the portal had been used by a large number of people since its launch last week. "It has become a global phenomenon and it is important to note that an overwhelming majority of people interacting with the Dublin Portal have behaved appropriately."

This is the second installation of its kind. A first portal has already connected the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and the Polish city of Lublin for around two and a half years. However, the new artwork is attracting much more attention in New York and Dublin. Millions of people of Irish descent live in the USA.