Below is a mock user experience. Written from the perspective of someone that went through the installation without having any prior knowledge of it:

On my way to class, I noticed a man dressed in a black robe, standing in front of a black curtain, blocking the hallway. A little frustrated, I told him that I needed to get by to go to my class. He explained that I must either go around the other way or sign in and wait for my time to come. Before I could answer, he handed me a sheet of parchment paper with burnt edges. Knowing that I had a few minutes to make it to class, I decided to look over the paper.

After reading the short disclaimer, I realized that this must be one of those strange multimedia installations that I have heard so much about. I signed in for a time slot right after my class and then rushed around the other side. After class I made it back just in time… The man in the black robe called out my name and told me that it is my time and then led me through the curtain and into a small black room with a chair, asking me to wait there. The room was completely dark and I could hear only a heartbeat and subtle indistinguishable voice. I was so curious to see what this was all about, and wondered how long they were going to leave me there or if this was all there was?

Soon after I began to relax, the door opened, blinding me with the bright white light coming from the hall. To my surprise a woman wearing a white gown greeted me by name in a welcoming voice. Then she led me farther down the hall through another curtain, where she asked me to remove my shoes. She told me that she was going to perform a smudging ritual to purify my mind... She lit something up and started to cover my entire body with smoke. It had an interesting smell to it, it seemed strangely familiar and it helped me to relax.

Then she lead me into a small dark tunnel… I had to get down on my hands and knees to crawl through. The tunnel was very soft and a little warm. It reminded me of when I used to build little forts out of pillows, furniture and sheets as a child. I heard the heartbeat and voice louder and clearer as I continued down the tunnel. After crawling several feet I approached a smaller opening, leading to a larger dome shaped room. I was drawn to a cocoon like form that was emanating light and some sort of imagery.

Upon approaching the cocoon, I could see a circular window, revealing the moving image of a hand reaching through static and touching the surface of the screen. At this point I could make out phrases such as "can you feel me" and "please touch me." When the hand touched the screen, a white glow surrounded the finger that made contact and a tapping sound could be heard. This sequence repeated several times. Finally I realized that I was supposed to touch the screen.

At first, I touched the static on the screen and instantly heard a recorded tapping sound but nothing else happened. I knew it registered me touching the screen but I wondered why nothing happened. Then I decided to try touching the glowing finger. I heard a strange electrical sound and the hand faded away. A series of faces faded in, each of them were glowing white like the finger. I knew that I could select them by simply touching them, since they were glowing like the finder was.

After touching one face, it moved to the bottom, center of the screen, while the other faces faded away. The face I selected was then surrounded by small images that were also glowing with white light. I assumed that the images around the face represented thoughts or dreams that that person had. I touched one of the images that looked like some sort of monster. Then I was able to view that image alone at a larger scale, I also noticed that it was now animated. Suddenly the monstrous face started to glow, so I touched it. This caused the monstrous image to disappear. Several faces appeared to either side of the face at the bottom of the screen. The faces were connected by a strand of white light forming a half circle. They rotated so that the next face to the right replaced the previous one in the center, while all the others disappeared. I then watched images of another monstrous form while the new face remained at the bottom center. I decided to pressed the face at the bottom of the screen this time to see what happened. As a result, the new face stayed at the bottom and I was presented with several small images surrounding it.

After going through the animations for a while, I realized that I was able to navigate through them based on which ones were associated with each face or by which images were similar to each other. One set of images was of gods from different religions. I made the connection that many people believe in some sort of God or higher power and that even thought they may picture God differently, it is still the same core concept.

After I went through all of the images and cycles, I started to crawl back out of the tunnel. The woman in the white robe helped me up and escorted me through the exit, back into the mundane hallway.

Visit the Installation section of this website to view photos of the walkthrough, animation and construction.

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