Russian artistic collective Tundra have attempted to visualise the idea of emptiness using a 360 degree panoramic display. The group, which involves musicians, sound engineers, programmers and visual artists, attempt to create spaces and experiences by making AV and emotions work together. Their latest work, The Void, sees emptiness not as the absence of everything but as an initial state when anything can appear.
The creators named the Big Bang as a good illustration of their main idea. To see anything start to appear from the darkness of the room the visitor must remain perfectly still and silent, otherwise sensors will prevent the show starting or pause it if there is any interruption.
Tundra, who are based in St Petersburg, Russia, described the experience: “You are standing in an empty room. There is no chairs and tables. They were there, but they took them away. There is no monsters from your bad dreams, although, they never were there. You are standing in an empty room, made of little pieces of stardust that carry the emptiness between them. And while breathing in and out, you feel the movement of the emptiness inside you and that the emptiness is you. At this moment you see that the only things which are absent in the room are the impossible ways of existence.â€
In a time where the average person is bombarded with multiple digital distractions, the creators see Void is a social experiment, to see how long people can stay totally calm.