Phantasm

Concept: Takahiro Matsuo
Date: 2007

Delicate butterflies flutter about in a dream-like world suffused with a pleasant blue light. Soft piano music plays in the background. An ideal spot to relax and dream.

The visitor enters the world of Phantasm with a glowing ball of light in his/her hand. The butterflies react to the light, fly towards it and follow it. If the visitor covers the ball with his/her hands, the butterflies disappear and the visitor is returned to the real world.

The light ball is equipped with LEDs and serves as the interface, the connection between the visitors and the virtual world of Phantasm. The activities of the butterflies and the background soundscape react to changes with respect to the ball—its movements and the varying intensity of its light. These changes are registered by a sensor camera mounted on the ceiling of the installation space, which then relays the information to a computer.