#4
Space Observation
100 Years Sea Animation Diorama
Helmed as one of the top art exhibitions by The Business Times, 'Future World' was an exhibition that has been appearing on my Social Media feed recently. The most popular exhibit would have to be the mesmerising LED light installation with its highly raved picturesque background, reminding me of my favourite scene in Avatar. However, the exhibit that left a deep impression in me would have to be the '100 Years Sea Animation Diorama.' I remember walking into this space occupied by flat bean bags that were placed in neat rows before 5 large screens. The large screens stretched out from one end of the room to the other, wrapping the observers in an intimate encounter. On first look, the space looked like a cinematic experience with people taking their spots on the comfy bean bags while watching the animation on screen.
As I lay beside my friends on the bean bag, I felt like I was sucked into the screen. The never-ending replaying of the sea animation hooked me from the start. As I was in an inclined position, the moving sea animation felt more up-close and realistic and it was oddly therapeutic and hypnotic to rest comfortably while enjoying the visual display. The screen started off white before it showed the low sea waves and highly visible rocks in the sea. The music reminded me of the instrumental music that would play in space documentary videos. It started light and calming until the waves crashes more violently, the sea level rises and the sea completely swallows the rocks. At the end, the music speeds up and the pitch increases as the tension rises. On the other hand, I was also observing the people around me. My two friends were concentrating on the show, and glancing from one screen to the next (although one friend was dozing off towards the end). The people around me included young children, adults, locals and foreigners. Some of them had their phones whipped out and were busy capturing shots like I was. Some were just reclining on the bean bag while fixing their eyes on a particular screen. Of course, there were some with eyes shut, drifting off to lalaland.
During this short digital animation, I felt very drawn into the exhibit. The sound, visuals, space and the use of bean bags were well thought of, creating a very tight and pleasant experience. The way the observer is positioned made it hard to draw the line between what is on screen and what is real. I felt like I was being engulfed by the sea and it was rather intimidating when the music plays a huge part in elevating that fear of drowning. The mood felt in the space was definitely tensed as the film played on. Apart from the sound, bean bags and visuals, my mood was largely affected by the fact that the space was dimly-lit and that there were no other distractions in the space.
Through this simple exhibit, I found myself reflecting on this very problem of climate change. I really love how it made use of film as a medium while defusing technology and media networks into the gallery. Digital culture has definitely bled into this space as seen from how the animation was projected on 5 joined screens, making it a surround-view experience. I loved it especially when the sea waves rose all the way and covered the entire screen, creating the illusion of being swallowed by the sea. All these were accomplished with the simple way of digitally representing scientific data collected by WWF. The fact that the data were real and scientific, it goes to show how problematic climate change is and it deserves the attention of everyone, especially the younger generation. Hence, I believe that the installation was made friendly to young children as seen from the low bean bags and simple visual wiggly lines that represent the sea waves. Even the project description outside the space had a short version for children. This is indeed a good step forward to get the young to think of such important issues while keeping in mind their capacity and preference to receive information.
I definitely enjoyed myself while watching the provocative and realistic message about our Earth, especially since it came at a right time when I was needy of a break to rest my tired feet. I also liked the uniqueness of this exhibit to place its observers so close to the floor as most of the installations I visited in the past required me to stand or to physically interact with the exhibit. Overall, this space played alot with my senses while giving observers the space to think of critical global issues.