Immersive installation · experience design
NEBULA
An art installation at the intersection of space science and bodily experience
An art installation at the intersection of space science and bodily experience
EFEST 2021. A 58 m² space with three projection circles on the floor and an eight-meter screen on the wall — all working as a single interactive system.
At its core — a physical simulation of nebulae: interstellar clouds of gas, dust and plasma born from supernova explosions. The installation reproduced their dynamics: structures, density, particle behavior.
Each visitor attracted or repelled particles, building up a field around themselves. On the final screen it resolved into the silhouette of a specific person — a nebula avatar existing only here and now.
Your body becomes part of the nebula.
Nebula · EFEST 2021 · Hello I/O studio · watch on YouTube
The show was built as a three-act narrative with two transitions — Nebula formation, Inside the nebula, Macrocosm. Each act with its own visual language, density and emotional temperature. The full cycle runs about 20 minutes.
Floor projection. Three 10 m circles — the main interaction stage. Here a particle field formed around each visitor.
Vertical screen. An 8 m circle on the wall — the final transformation. Accumulated particles formed the visitor’s nebula avatar.
Interactivity. Depth cameras read body movement and translated physical presence into the system’s visual response in real time.
Scattered particles slowly gather into structures. Visitors notice for the first time: every step changes the behavior of the field around them. The system begins to react to presence.
The space is full. Around each person — their own unique particle field. As people draw closer, the fields intersect and react to one another. The experience shifts from individual to shared.
A supernova explosion. Particles move onto the vertical screen. Silhouettes of those present appear on the wall — each turns into a nebula avatar. The presence of a specific person becomes part of the cosmos.
Floor plan · 3 circles + screen
3D render of the space
Final render
Photo test · formation
Photo test · interaction
User-driven effect
I · Nebula formation
II · Inside the nebula
Full cycle · visual system
Nebula let you see nebulae of incredible beauty with the naked eye — and take part in a supernova explosion.
Nebula · EFEST