Picture of the future

"Our inspiration for this concept comes from the American astronomer Carl Sagan's quote, 'We are made of star-stuff'," Ouchhh's creative director Eylul Alici says. "When we step into the exhibition area, the sensors will detect our shapes, and transform us into stardust and make us a part of the universe."

While the concepts behind the pieces vary, all the artworks feature powerful visuals and technology.

The opening night included a live performance, specifically, a concert with the listening experience enhanced by real-time visualizations of the electrical activity in the musicians' brains.

For each music piece, one of the musicians wore a small device on their head that detected the changes in their brain waves and then projected the waves onto the screen, allowing the audience to "see" each musician's thoughts and feelings.

Ferdi Alici says brain waves speak volumes about a person's emotions, focus and attention, as well as some auditory and neural mechanisms. By collecting different types of brain waves, the studio is able to transform data into a real-time concert experience.

The three musicians are pianist Ma Chen, pipa (lute) player Wang Yayu and guqin (Chinese zither) player Chen Zhijun. The repertoire consisted of five pieces, which varied in styles and eras, therefore generating diverse visuals.