Students were tasked with creating a 1-minute immersive visual piece intended for projection within the dome at Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens. Successful work invokes a single sense or sensation, creating a visceral experience for viewers.
Music and animation have always had a complementary relationship. I wanted to express this synergy by depicting a visualization of each note in a piece of music I wrote. I wanted this musical visualization to also capture the perspective of the listener. A mannequin figure is used to symbolize the extent music can mold the listener to experience a sensation in which every note and vibration is absorbed into a personal and individualized moment in time. The act of listening to music alone can often evoke the sensation of isolation: this is expressed in the warped textures of the instruments. Listening to music can also make you feel as though the environment around you is changing. The moment the record plays, the piano spins as if it was the record itself; the guitar strings appear in the middle of the circular piano creating a shape similar to that of an acoustic guitar. The mannequin is in the centre of its surroundings with the act of listening being represented as a colour change in alignment with the note being played. Once the music stops, the listener is left with only themselves.
