The Constellations: A surreal experience of 3D imagery and music

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 3 — Imagine walking into a dark space surrounded by peeling, bare walls on which surreal images and stop-motion animation are projected.

Even as you find yourself surrounded by these strange and yet familiar images, a haunting tune flows through the air lending an added layer of mystery and wonder to the whole experience.

This is The Constellations, an art installation by Berlin-based artist, AWK, at the Hin Bus Depot Art Centre as part of the Urban Xchange (UX) Festival this year.

Unlike the usual exhibitions of paintings and/or sculptures, this installation is a combination of 3D images, animation, stencil art and music which produces a unique interactive experience for visitors.

"This is going to be an immersive video installation that projects the images on three walls so that as viewers step inside the building, they will watch the animation happening all around them," explained AWK, whose real name is Adomas Zudys.

The 26-year-old has always been doing stencil art but this time, he decided to try this medium.

"This is my first main focus on a video installation… before this, I've done it for parties and events in Berlin," he said. This is also his very first international art festival and his first visit to Penang.

The Constellations is a collection of many different 3D imagery and animation centred around The Star, a five-storey light sculpture by local artist Jun Ong.

AWK working on a stencil art at Wisma Yeap Chor Ee in George Town. — Picture by K.E.Ooi

"The video is going to explore the concepts of biology, geology, cosmology, technology, mechanics and geometry because it is designed from a 3D software where everything is digital and artificial with no representation of real life but with discernible shapes that people can recognise," Zudys said of his work.

He spent the past six months working on it, especially the last two months when he put in the final touches on his 3D images were.

The Constellations is accompanied by music composed by experimental digital music composer Gediminas Zygus and performed by J.G.Biberkopf.

The Constellations is only open at night between 7.30pm and midnight from November 1 to 5 at the Hin Bus Depot.

UX, an international street art festival that stretches for two weeks, kicked off last Saturday and will feature works by 15 local and foreign artists including public murals and sculptures and the Artisans Project.

Find out more about UX events at  www.urbanxchange2015.com.