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 audiovisual experience 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.
Eigengrau frames the negative space, and therefore it generates an illusion of non-material space. The installation offers a suspension from the isolation and digital saturation of contemporary society.
Eigengrau (2019) is published under the terms of the Peer Production License (PPL). The Peer Production License is an example of CopyFair licensing, in which only other commoners, collectives and nonprofits can share and re-use the material in question.
Eigengrau Project Team
Sébastien Robert sounddesign
Anna Kacso architecture
Julius Keijzer software
Koen Coppens hardware
Luuk de Kok film
Pim van Baalen photography
Zalán Szakács is a post-digital designer, who explores media theories through the use of light, space, and sound. He translates his conceptual research into interactive and immersive environments, creating atmospheres that challenge human perception.
He graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven and currently studies Media Design masters at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.
