Spaces of Reflection: Immersive Art Exhibition on Sustainability and Environmental Awareness

At Onionlab, we believe that art can be a valuable tool for raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging a shift toward a more sustainable society. Through our immersive works of art, which have been visited by hundreds of thousands of people at light festivals and other cultural events, Onionlab seeks to promote a new way of consuming culture that combines technology, creativity, and knowledge.

The “Spaces of Reflection” exhibition is an opportunity to reflect on our impact on the environment and learn how we can live more sustainably. Throughout the journey, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a series of immersive pieces that invite reflection. The exhibition addresses relevant topics such as climate change, pollution, and the overexploitation of natural resources.

In terms of the structure of the exhibition, it is conceived in a way that allows the adaptation of Onionlab’s existing pieces to an exhibition format and combines them with newly conceived, yet-to-be-produced works.

This new narrative and exhibition format allows for greater access to more artistic centers and spaces for reproduction. The pieces featured in the exhibition are as follows.

Phasing Rain

An immersive light and sound installation representing changes in global rainfall patterns caused by climate change. LED bars are combined with sound to produce a rhythmic rain sensation. The luminous mantras of this 10-minute piece pose a problem of global consequences to the viewer.

Originally created for the Luma Festival 2019 in New York, it was later adapted for the Solid Light Festival in Rome in 2019 and the Evi Lichtungen Festival 2022 in Hildesheim. This piece, organized as a corridor of LED lights, serves as a good introduction for viewers to the exhibition.

Agorythm

An interactive installation that works as a poetic journey to the heart of a city, country, or territory. The installation collects real-time data on the city where it is exhibited, such as energy consumption, noise pollution, air quality, and mobility. These values are interpreted in a kinetic simulation of lights, lasers, and sound, making viewers aware of how their daily actions impact the environment of a city.

It has been exhibited at the Llum Festival in Barcelona in 2019 and the Fête des Lumières in Lyon in 2022.

Through immersive artworks, advanced technologies, and a creative and educational approach, the exhibition promotes a new way of consuming culture that is not only entertaining and spectacular but also enlightening and transformative.

FOG

This piece reflects on the pollution generated by human activity on the planet. Using a metal structure, smoke, and LED screens, we will create a space where viewers feel immersed, simulating an excess of pollution, conveying the feeling of what we might experience in the future if we continue on this path without change.

Climate

An immersive audiovisual piece of 9 minutes that presents a conflict between a utopian and dystopian future of planet Earth. It poses a dilemma to the viewer: in which world do they want to live—in a dystopian, barren, and gray world or a bright, harmonious one? It premiered at the Metz Festival in 2022 and was viewed by over 800,000 people during a three-month period.

With the worst score, the user will see the ruins of a city in a devastated land.

In addition to inviting reflection, the exhibition also aims to foster collaboration and exchange of ideas among professionals in the cultural sector.

As a platform to showcase the talent and creativity of the artists and technicians involved in the project, “Spaces of Reflection” aims to inspire others to think about cultural spaces of this kind and thus contribute to creating a more just and equal society.

We believe that the “Spaces of Reflection” exhibition is a unique opportunity to reflect on our impact on the environment and learn how we can live more sustainably.

VR The Outcome

This piece is divided into two parts: a first part where the user answers 10 questions on a tablet about topics such as food, mobility, fashion, housing, or recycling.

Based on these answers, the second phase invites the user to put on VR glasses and visualize the future that awaits them according to their responses.

With the best score, the user will visit a very advanced city in 2100 in balance with nature.

With an average score, they will visit a gray, sad, dystopian city with habitability issues.