Breathing Room is an immersive installation designed to change the way we experience space around us on a primal level. It is a kinetic light installation in the form of a tunnel, lined with cones that ‘breathe’. The experience is strange and otherworldly – some find it alters consciousness, others have even been moved to tears. (See our 360° film. Playlist of Breathing Room films)
The brightly lit outside is a skeletal armature with a visible slightly-tortuous movement mechanism. This contrasts with the inside, which bathes you in soft luminous light, and moves organically – breathing and blossoming. Having already seen the mechanism, this creates a sense of the uncanny. The immersion in the distinctive movement of the cones is unlike any other sensory experience, and this can feel profound.
Breathing Room is hard to convey on screen, because its immersive and experiential nature works on a more primitive level than language can access, whilst visually, the experience hinges on the differential between your visual periphery vs where you are looking.
The piece is currently touring – it is suitable for indoor and outdoor showings, and is particularly suited for urban light festivals or gallery spaces. If you would like further details or to show Breathing Room, please contact producer Siobhan Andrews Kapoor.
We have had incredible public response from our showings so far, which include Premiering at Milton Keynes International Festival, Contemporary Calgary, Bright Nights Gloucester, Spare Parts Festival Crewe, Wordfest Wakefield, Royal Docks in London, and Liberty Festival in Croyden.
We have an amazing team working on Breathing Room, including producer Siobhan Andrews Kapoor, production managers Anya Fox and Mat Ort, original collaborator Clive Doherty, engineer Martin West and 101 Outdoor arts along with support from Festive Road.
The piece begin in a very different form – the original Breathing Room was quite a political piece, inkeeping with my work at the time. However, after getting an Unlimited R&D grant, it evolved in a different direction. Whilst it remains a kinetic ‘paper’ installation like the original, this version very much focusses on the sensory aesthetic.
With extra special thanks to all of those who contributed to our crowdfunder in 2023: Sarah Allen, Kate Atalay, Keith Attenborough, Morag Ballentine, Shane Berrow, Ellis Breen, Rachel Byron, Gavin Capel, Jo Churcher, Chris Crispus Jones, Sabina Crouch, Cara Davies, Maja Dunn, Alistair Dunsmuir, Hilly Edwards, Barabara Everatt, Monica Ferguson, Alex Freeman, Iain Frew, Phil Gallagher, Bill Gee, Robin Gilbert, Sam Gilbert, Comerisamy Govinda, Mhairi Gowans, Chris Gravell, Mike Gray, Dennis Hayes, Georgy Holden, Laurence Holden, Mike Layward, Jude Kaye, Suzie Larke, Caterina Loriggio, Nicky Marchant, Mark Marrington, Kevin McConway, Karen Milne, Judi Moore, Kathy Navin, Louise Petrie, Ben Piears, Teresa Riley, Jim Smith, Sue Sommers, Ted Stein, Ellie Stout, Alice Swatton, Gwen Taylor, Annabel Thomas, Jess Thom, Blair Todd, Becky Trieste, Ali Underhill, Jenny Unsworth, Chris Williams, Perry Williams, Dinah Winch, Alison Young
