SUBSURFACE LIGHT

About the Installation

SUBSURFACE LIGHT is a 3D projection mapping animation that transforms a wall into other things, other spaces. Inspired by the festival's theme, All the Little Things, the piece focuses on what lies just beneath the surface—hidden systems, subtle rhythms, and tiny actors that make up the unseen foundations of life and cities alike.

By using the texture and layout of the wall as a canvas, the projection reveals small worlds of movement: working bees, eye's rotating, and underwater scenes. These elements come together in an evolving loop that breathes and flows—honoring the tiny, tireless efforts that hold everything together above and below the surface.

Our Process

Led by Chris Dreger, professor of multimedia at Washington State University Vancouver, a team of WSUV students and alumni met weekly to learn projection mapping, 3D animation, project development, and collaborative communication. Together, we explored how to solve design problems using time and space, shaping an immersive installation that is visually engaging, playful, and compelling to watch.

We first went to the site and measured the surfaces we would be projecting on.. We studied its texture, shadows, and architectural quirks, photographing and mapping every surface. In the design the wall's three-dimensional blocks become portals, carefully measured and mapped as points of emergence.

Through projection mapping, the wall becomes a living canvas. Solid forms part and shift, exposing the unseen worlds beneath. What was once static begins to open up, reminding us that even the smallest hidden worlds sustain the larger whole.