Komorebi Installation
The Japanese word komorebi「木漏れ日」refers to the quality of light as it filters through leaves and branches of trees. This project concept was created by my colleague and project lead, Yuta Nakayama. We worked in collaboration with Lighting Planners Associates, Pte Ltd (LPA) to create the final installation at the National Design Centre atrium for Singapore's Night Festival event.
The concept explores the idea of 'painting with shadows' across different temporal scenes that might occur throughout a day; from sunrise to sunset. These scenes included a pre-dawn drizzle, a more intense mid-morning downpour, shadows of birds as they fly overhead, and a quiet night scene surrounded by fireflies. These animated scenes were created using the Processing language. We initially had certain animations able to respond to user movements that were read via a USB web camera, however, we decided to forego those option once on-site installation was completed.
We used two projectors hung from the third floor in order to project the scenes to the floor of the National Design Centre. We used MadMapper, a projection mapping software, to minimize projection distortion.
This project involved learning many new skills in a matter of weeks in order to successfully complete visual content in time for the Night Festival opening: Processing (workflow and creating custom classes), Projection Mapping, working with real-time input via a USB Webcam. LPA and Mr. Yuta focussed more heavily on the creation and positioning of the Komorebi strips as well as some of the animation content, in order to create the nuanced layering and texturing of light and shadow.
One of the biggest challenges was learning the limitations inherent to projecting in such a large space; contrast and saturation were generally more washed-out than what was displayed on-screen. This was addressed by over-compensating the on-screen visuals to ensure that what was actually projected was closer to what was intended.
Output from Processing sketches showing color transitions and particle effects:
Video Details:
Photoshoot before opening night:
Opening night:
