Winch 600 & Winch 50 for Nabatele in Venice

Large-scale floating art installation by Anna Kamyshan anchored by 9 modified Winch 600s and 4 Winch 50s

The Winch 600 units were modified to a great degree for this project to enable Art-Net control, PosiStageNet (PSN) position feedback and 16-bit precision positioning.

This was necessary to gain the amount of control required to keep the huge balloon from being affected by sideways wind forces of up to 360 kg while the structure itself pulls upwards with a force of about 80 kg.

All of the winches had a custom wooden rain cover built around them on lightweight metal frames to ensure protection against the weather and the transport.

The video below shows a peak behind the scenes from when the Winches were made here at Wahlberg in Denmark.

The creation of Winch 600

About the art installation:

The art installation NABATELE was born from a personal search for home and roots — for a sense of belonging. It imagines home as something free from any specific location: a place that can exist between sky and ground, carried by the wind and shaped by changing weather conditions, while always preserving its inner light, lit from within for everyone.

“Nabat” in NABATELE is a call to attention in moments of danger. Softened by the Yiddish diminutive “-ele”, it becomes a quiet, almost silent signal — gentle, yet present and persistent.

Shaped by displacement and the search for identity, Jewish-Ukrainian artist Anna Kamyshan created a flying shtetl synagogue, illuminated by Ner Tamid — the eternal flame that lives within each of us. Suspended in the Venetian sky, this ephemeral image speaks to all those who have known what it means to live without solid ground.

You can find a full description of the project here: nabatele.world

Credits:

Organized by Museum of Jewish Montreal
Design and Engineering led by Christopher Hornzee-Jones, Aerotrope
Calculations and engineering analysis: Tensys
Manufacturing: Àrea Cúbica + TAO-group Trans Atmospheric Operations
Infrastructure Contractor and Engineering: Servizi Tecnici S.r.l.
Local Management Team: Venice Art Factory and Vincenzo Casali
3d Modeling: Daniel Maga
Helium & windows production management: Yuriy Klympush
Winch system: Wahlberg Motion Design
Software & TouchDesigner Development: Alex Mashurov
Object Management & Maintenance: Exhibition Care and Scenocracy
Communications: Italiens PR and Niceone Agency
Web and graphic design: Semion Zlotnikov, Tsentsiper
Web development: Polina Nesanelis, Tsentsiper
Image: Dima Morozov
Assistance: Polina Ahababova