Operation KiBa

Operation KiBa is an interactive installation, which Niklas and I created during summer 2022 in Preungesheim, Frankfurt am Main. At the heart of Preungesheim, on the Gravensteiner Platz, is a beloved ice cream cafe, where everyone seemed to escape the scorching August weather. Connecting to this theme, we brought Operation KiBa on the square with the mission to collect scoops of ice cream with remote controlled vehicles. The installation was one of the activities that we did during our artists residency at Fliegendes Künstlerzimmer im Quartier, which brings cultural activities in public space, in particular for children and youth. The project was funded by Crespo Foundation.

KiBa is a German abbreviation for Kirsch-Banane, that is, cherry-banana. It usually refers to a mixed juice drink, but can also be an ice cream flavour. KiBa seemed like a perfect flavour for our game, as we had tons of red and yellow ball bath balls in our basement, a remnant of an old installation. The remote controlled ice cream collectors were also built partly out of another recycled installation. To enable easy transport of the installation, we made a wooden ice cream wagon, which included two joysticks and served as the game controller.

In the beginning of each game, all ice cream scoops (red and yellow balls) are scattered across the play field by tilting a huge ice cream bowl. Making the countdown and pulling the string that releases the balls seemed to be nearly as exciting as playing the game itself. After the scattering, players start collecting as many balls as possible. In principle, the player with the red “cherry” vehicle collects balls on a red tray and the yellow “banana” vehicle on the yellow one. However, we left the players room with regard to gameplay, as Operation KiBa is not so much about winning, as it is about enjoyment and collective performance. Since every good game and get-together needs also good music, we had mobile KiBa Radio with us, which played Komiku's Incredible Kart Game soundtrack.

Other activities that we did during the residency included exploring Preungesheim with Vektorkollektor, building Bastelkoffer and creating stereoscopes out of reading glasses.

See also:

• Photo album of Operation KiBa
• Documentation on Niklas' website