[Text nur in englischer Sprache verfügbar] Year: 2026

Medium: TouchDesigner

Bioluminescence begins with the observation of bioluminescence as a form of communication. In nature, light is not simply a visual element: through chemical reactions such as that between luciferin and luciferase, different organisms produce flashes, pulses and glows that perform specific functions. Each species develops its own luminous language, capable of signalling presence, attracting, defending or establishing a relationship with its environment.

Marta Zorzan takes this natural phenomenon as a starting point and connects it with the less visible ways in which human beings communicate their presence. The light of a gaze, a gesture or an inner state becomes a metaphor for the energies we continuously transmit and receive, often without being fully aware of their effect on others.

A central reference is the Milky Sea phenomenon, in which enormous concentrations of bioluminescent organisms produce a diffuse and persistent glow across the surface of the ocean. The multitude of individual points of light loses its boundaries and becomes a single expanse of milky-white luminosity. Bioluminescence transfers this image into a collective dimension: individual presences remain perceptible through their actions while simultaneously contributing to the transformation of a shared environment.

The immersive space becomes a vast metaphorical sea that responds to the presence of the audience. Through a system of sensors, visitors’ movements modify waves, forms and colours in real time. Deep blues and violets evoke plankton, ocean depths and marine organisms, while greens, yellows, oranges and milky-white glows recall different forms of terrestrial and aquatic bioluminescence. As the number of people increases, the transformations become more pronounced; as the audience decreases, the system gradually returns to a state of calm.

The soundscape also responds to presence and movement. Aquatic environments constructed from filtered bass frequencies, reverberation and slow pulsations alternate with terrestrial landscapes of rustling textures, intermittent buzzing and irregular impulses. Image and sound therefore belong to the same reactive system, with each configuration shaped by the people moving through the space.

Bioluminescence transforms a biological phenomenon into a collective experience. Just as millions of organisms in a Milky Sea collectively produce a luminous surface, each presence within the installation contributes to an environment shared by everyone. To interact is to leave a trace, but also to encounter the traces of others: to listen to one’s own language, recognise that of others and temporarily become part of the same luminous organism.