Kalighto
Group project in the 3rd semester (academic year 2024/25)
by Agnes Wallner, Katharina Fisch, Lena Gattinger, Nicola Toth, Mascha Lebedew
Exhibited as part of the project vernissage at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Kalighto is an immersive spatial installation that invites visitors to enter a collective dream world and actively shape it. At its core is the experience of a lucid dream, brought to life through reflection, light, and interaction. The installation blurs the line between reality and imagination, placing the audience in a state that feels both physical and surreal.
The fully enclosed pavilion was lined on all sides with reflective mirror foil. As a result, the projected light scattered and bounced throughout the space, creating a dense network of reflections. Shimmering objects suspended from the ceiling captured and dispersed the light further, generating a vibrant field of color, texture, and glow. Two projectors cast animated gradients onto the inner walls, which responded to touch by changing their color palette, intensity, and direction. This created a continuously shifting environment that reacted sensitively to even the smallest gestures.
Technically, the installation used two iPhones running the Zig Sim app to capture touch input. The collected data was transmitted in real time to TouchDesigner, where it directly influenced the color output of the projection. Every interaction, whether a single tap or a continuous touch, was translated into immediate visual feedback on the surrounding surfaces. Physical interaction and visual response were closely linked, resulting in a condensed, dreamlike spatial experience in which digital technology and human presence were closely intertwined.
A time-lapse video documents the physical construction of the pavilion. It captures the transformation of the empty room into a reflective, enclosed space and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the setup process prior to the integration of the interactive system.