A contemporary phantasmagoria

Since the beginning phantasmagorias were built upon mythological stories, political, sociological and religious propaganda as reflections of the zeitgeist. Eigengrau is the phantasmagoria of the 21st century.

Eigengrau (derived from German origin, meaning ‘dark light’) counters the online individual information overload by creating an offline non-screen mediated collective experience. It proposes a temporary escape in a contemporary setting, where the audience is invited into a collective ritual, a feeling of togetherness. With only the means of stripped back elements of light, sound and haze, the installation creates an emotional illusion, a dialogue between darkness and light.

The performative installation features a custom-made LED circle, that in the timespan of 12 minutes takes the audience through a non linear time of five mental states: Deep State, Anticipation State, Weird state, Higher State and Relaxation State. This narrative is made visible through the pre-programmed motion of blue light gradients, referring to the colour of screen light.