2019
Tracing the Sky
Source of Inspiration
"Tracing the sky is like my self-expression poem. I prefer to stay indoors; I usually look out the West Mountain from my window in Beijing and overlook trees and lakes in my home in London. Sometimes I can see some wind; sometimes I can see some people. Even though they seem close at hand consistently, for me, they are still a part of the outside world behind me."
Artwork Description
Tracing the Sky is an immersive mixed-reality installation in Manchester in July. A hidden underground space in a busy city is transformed into an immersive sanctuary. Under a Victorian shopping arcade, a space void of physical content is filled with floating motion graphics emerging from the brick walls of the deep basement hideaway.
Arresting imagery glides across the brickwork, vaulted ceilings, and chambers of the underground location, filling the architecture with dreamlike skyscapes. The work uses 3D scanning, projection mapping, and mobile phones equipped with augmented reality software to allow the audience to interact with the projections. Visitors will immerse themselves in a fluid environment of simulated clouds and skies that change in response to how they interact with the installation via smartphone technology. Sounds generated from these interactions will add another dimension to the experience.
Artwork by Jiayu Liu
Artist assistant
Yishan Xiao
Technical Director
Louis Mustill
Lead Creative Developer
William Young
App Developer
Shaun Sahdev
Developers
Kyle McLean, Randal Vazquez & Elliot Woods
Production Manager
Nerea Castro
Project Manager
Louise Beer
Project Sound Design and Development
James Wilkie & Daniel James Ross
Projection Design
Jim Hadfield & Jack Longden
Technician
Thomas Begley
Chief Tinkerer
Arron Smith
Film Director
Matthew Watt
Composer
James Wilkie
Visual Designer
Zhiwei Wang
Special thanks to
OPPO Group
Li Mei
Yulu Wang
Junwei Wang
Personal
Qingxue Liu
Shujuan Ma
Ida Bergfors
Chongshi
Sean Lu
Venue
Brickworks