NEBULOSUS – Stella Speziali & AUTHOS
NEBULOSUS
Stella Speziali & AUTHOS
“NEBULOSUS” defines a spatial space. Its boundaries, however, are boundless, the shape varies and is dependent on the climatic conditions of the botanical garden. But “NEBULOSUS” is also a window to a different kind of world.
During the day, soft clouds of fog appear, behaving and moving according to the environment. Light, shadow, nature and the cloud create an unreal experience.
At the Long Night of the Zurich Museums on September 4, a new reality emerges, creating a different, untouchable appearance. A swarm of dazzling dots emerge, these shapes react to the movement of the visitors. The clash between the real and digital worlds is subtle, almost intangible. At the same time, the garden, with its unpredictable lighting, wind patterns, humidity, temperature, gravity, as well as the number of visitors, will shape the cloud and interaction in reality.
Despite the warm conditions of an August summer in Zurich, being enveloped in water vapor is a claiming, cooling, and also imaginative experience. Visitors become part of an installation and will be able to experi-ence this part of the garden in an unexpected way.
Visitors are invited to consider the ephemeral aspect of life. Where is the limit between the manmade garden, the artificial cloud and reality?
SPECIAL PROGRAM
4. September 18:00 – 02:00
Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen
Questionary
How would you describe your style?
Stella: It is a stimulation incessantly evolving in space and time, articulating reactions from human perception.
What are your most important working tools?
Alexander: First of all my perceptive senses and then my hands which allow me to draw, research and conceptualize my projects. Sometimes there is a bit of a mess and a project results; books are always involved.
Which topics do you deal with in your work?
Stella: With the alteration of human perception through different types of hallucinations, including visual, auditory and physical ones.
What does your workplace look like?
Alexander: A place of exchange and permeability where people can pass by to have a chat or just say hello.
What does a normal design process look like for you?
Stella: To begin, ask “I-wonder-what-will-happen” questions. Then, prototype iterations before reaching THE ultimate vision.
Why is design important?
Alexander: From the very moment something is manmade, there is active or passive design. You have the choice to be an actor and a spectator but whatever you do, design is our lives.
About
Stella Speziali is a multidisciplinary Interactive Designer living in Zurich. Since 2015, she is interested in immersive experiences where she explores the spatial experience, manipulating the perception and the relationship between touch, sound, light and space using motion capture, spatial augmented reality projections and other technologies.
Alexander Wolhoff is a European-Swiss Architect living in Geneva. He is the founder of AUTHOS. His multicultural background and his awareness of Alterity allows him to further develop spatial explorations while questioning frontiers and boundaries. In his work, the relationship we have to building and convenience materials is addressed through different perspectives.
Curators’ Comment
Interaction designer Stella Speziali meets architect Alexander Wolhoff, multidisciplinary work meets multicultural experience. Seeing this teamwork shine in a cloud made us curious.
The humid climate around the waterfall, the cave and the small pond in the Old Botanical Garden are infused with something magical by the installation: a cloud that is constantly being changed by the microclimate and the way the visitors move within it. (Andreas Saxer)