Praktiline harjutus iseendasse naasmiseks
Immersive Art Exhibition for Pärnu Linnagalerii focusing on Self-Reflection and Somatic Awareness
Production, Concept & Narrative Design, Multimedia Director, Animation, Motion Capture.
Challenge:
To unify a complex therapeutic concept (Gestalt therapy principles, internal inventory, and the Expulsion from Paradise narrative ) into a cohesive, user-friendly exhibition experience, ensuring high visitor engagement and seamless integration between physical art, digital film, and self-guided instruction.
Visitors often ignore instructions, leading to low engagement.
Solution:
The primary goal was to transform logistical instruction into a meaningful psychological step. Traditional gallery wayfinding was replaced by the "Practical Exercise for Returning to Self".
We linked the physical act of navigation to the core metaphor of the Expulsion from Paradise. The visitor's task (picking numbers) became the narrative continuation: the search for Empathy.
I. Experience Design: Narrative Wayfinding
The Metaphor:
The Egg is the burden of self-rejection, containing the "found defective fruit" (the square apple from the film)
Emotional Hook: Visitors are immediately drawn into the narrative.
The Choice:
Selecting two numbers from the split Egg: Sensory (grounding the worldview) and Emotional (mapping feelings to the body).
Gamification & Focus: Visitors concentrate on two unique works for deeper contemplation.
Diagram Design
A six-step infographic illustrating the entire symbolic journey.
II. Multimedia Content: Animated Film
The 3D animated short film re-examines the Expulsion from Paradise from a first-person perspective. It portrays anxiety triggered by the collapse of an idyll, leading the Neurotic to confront self-rejection before finding a new form for an unwanted gift. Eastern tradition's interpretation of the expulsion as a gift, allowing humanity to experience the full spectrum of life, is a key theme.
The film is a deep self-portrait where sub-personality characters develop the metaphors of the cards presented in the exhibition.
This film is modular and consists of short stories that act as metaphors for the characters' emotional states. It is designed to provide an emotional experience even if viewed from the middle.
Some Film Production Highlights
Motion Capture
To achieve visceral authenticity, I used a MoCap suit to physically experience the characters' emotional states and deliberately integrated my own awkward, unpleasant movements into the animation, forcing a physical confrontation with self-rejection.
Collaboration
Julia Valtanen's works were integrated into the metaphors of fear, exaltation, and rebirth, freeing up emotions for both the characters and the artist.
Maria Stepanyuk's poem "41" from "Fragmentary Poetry" provided a crucial element, bringing the project together and highlighting the core value of unconditional love. Stacy.O's music framing the recitative works in a single flow, necessary for the viewer to concentrate on himself.
Plot chapters
The film is divided into short parts to be viewed and understood from any point for the exhibition visitor. All parts are based on the 4 metaphorical cards included in the exhibition.
"Foreboding" - the Neurotic is bound to his home, and an egg cracks, revealing a destructive fly.
"Expulsion from the Garden of Eden" - Eden's tree fragments into the Serpent, leaving Adam isolated.
"Transformation" - Neurotic transforms into the Joker.
"Constructive Recycle" - the Square Apple transforms, leading to the Joker receiving an Egg.
You can explore the symbolic system of the film more on my blog
III. Conclusion: Project Impact
The blend of rigorous psychological theory, intuitive UX design, and personal multimedia creation successfully achieved the exhibition's goal : transforming visitors from passive observers ("life behind the glass" ) into active participants, using the therapeutic questions and the narrative framework to practice grounding and self-acceptance.
The project was developed using a special system that encompasses various social groups. This allowed the exhibition to be covered in the country's main news outlets without any advertising investment on our part.
