this immersive infinity chamber at SXSW will alter your perception of the world

artist refik anadol has used the element of light to create an immersive ‘infinity’ environment that surrounds visitors in an all-encompassing spectrum of illumination. set at the SXSW festival in austin, texas, the installation forms part of anadol’s ongoing research into audio/visual spaces. inside the mirrored chamber and through the careful programming of light, participants’ physical and mental state can be dramatically altered, creating the psychedelic perception an intangible world around them.

anadol looked towards the theme of ‘infinity’ in a radical effort to deconstruct the framework of space, and transgress the usual boundaries of a viewing experience. inside the installation, visitors at SXSW encounter a three dimensional kinetic and architectonic space that uses contemporary algorithms to generate kaleidoscopic light patterns. these carefully programmed light sequences blur the barrier between the material and virtual realms, marking the threshold between projection technology and physical space. ‘rather than approaching the medium as a means of escape into some disembodied techno-utopian fantasy, the project sees itself as a means of return’, anadol describes. ‘it facilitates a temporary release from our habitual perceptions and culturally biased assumptions about being in the world, to enable us — however momentarily — to perceive ourselves and the world around us freshly.’

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