Deep Web — Robert Henke & Christopher Bauder

I went to Berlin for the TouchDesigner Meeting organised by Derivative, and it happened to coincide with CTM. I could not leave without seeing this installation — one of the most astonishing things I have seen in years.

Deep Web uses twelve high-precision lasers and a matrix of 175 moving spheres to build a spectacular three-dimensional sculpture of lines and points floating above the audience. The choreography is synchronised to a score played back in eight-channel surround sound.

The piece was developed for the Festival of Lights in Lyon in 2015. The event was cancelled after the Paris attacks in November of that year, so it eventually premiered at CTM in Berlin in February 2016 instead.

The version I saw runs as a thirty-minute loop with lasers, kinetic light elements, surround sound and haze. The full performance version lasts sixty minutes and is controlled live by the artists.

Artistic direction: Christopher Bauder. Sound design and music: Robert Henke. Visual patterns and movement: Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke. TouchDesigner programming: Daniel Dalfovo. Kinetic light objects: Christopher Bauder / WHITEvoid. Laser control software and hardware: Michael Sollinger / LaserAnimation Sollinger.