Stereoscopic Abstract Animation as Immersive Installation

In the immersive stereoscopic installation Vœrtex, two-dimensional abstract animation is turned into immersive images with strong three-dimensional depth through a two-screen, semi-Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. Vœrtex creates a unique experience for the viewer, a hybrid space situated halfway between immersion-in-abstraction and the real world of the gallery space, allowing the viewer to be in two spaces simultaneously. This paper discusses the technical setup, production processes and stereoscopic techniques, including binocular colour rivalry and depth displacements employed in Vœrtex. This is followed by a discussion of Vœrtex in relation to the notion of lucidity and an audience study into viewers’ perception of the work. The hybrid setup of Vœrtex, combining both stereoscopic and interactive visual texts, allows for a sense of creative inspiration and inquiry into the dreaming mind, and participants can actively choose to explore different aspects of their perception by oscillating between two divergent states: an immersive dream sensation and a sense of being anchored in the real world. This project was supported by a General Research Fund grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (“Expanded Stereoscopy”, Project No. 11602919) and a Research Fellowship from City University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Applied Computing and Interactive Media (ACIM).