The viral "portal" from New York City to Dublin, Ireland, was temporarily closed just days after it first opened to the public due to "inappropriate behavior."
In a statement on Tuesday via BBC, Dublin's city council said it has to temporarily take the portal offline while it is "implementing technical solutions" to address rude and inappropriate behaviors from bystanders participating in the exhibit.
(Photo : Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)
The "portal," which is made out of two circular screens connected via interactive webcams 24/7, became a viral sensation among New Yorkers as people's unfiltered responses were broadcasted to their European counterparts.
New Yorkers, Dublin Residents Try to One-Up Each Other at the 'Portal' Exhibit
Reports of pedestrians throwing rude gestures to the screen or flashing explicit and provocative images became common as the installment trended on social media.
One person, reportedly an OnlyFans model, even became viral after "flashing" towards the Dublin crowd.
On the other side of the screen, Dublin residents were noted to display images and memes about the 9/11 attack to New Yorkers.
The installments' organizer, Flatiron Nomad Partnership, said it plans to install small software updates in the installation soon "to limit such behavior appearing on the live stream".
Also Read: NYC Subway's AI Metal Detectors Result in False Positives
What Does the New York-Dublin 'Portal' Means?
According to the organizers' website, Portal.org, the "portal" is meant as a "24/7 window to different cultures," bridging towards a "united planet."
It is worth noting that while rude and inappropriate gestures from many residents went viral the most, most visitors just took pictures or waved toward the screen.
(Photo : Portal.org)
The partnership even said that the majority of the visitors who behave appropriately "experienced the sense of joy and connectedness that this work of public art is intended to evoke."
The "portal" is currently also available in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Lublin in Poland where it received a much kinder reception from locals and tourists.
The eight-foot-tall installment was designed by Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys.
Related Article: Study Shows NYC is Sinking Due to the Weight of Its Buildings
