A spontaneous, late night trip with my roommate to this meditation room was the polar opposite of what I expected. Firstly, I was expecting a ‘light and sound exhibition’ as described by my Google search, similar to a museum’s set-up. Approaching the address, based on my expectation, I was looking for fairly large signage saying “Dream House” outside the doorway. Instead, I walked right past the entrance, overlooking the difficult to read double-sided A4 printed piece of paper taped to the window. In confusion after crossing the street and seeing pink light flowing out of a third floor apartment similar to the picture I saw on Google did I realize that I walked right past it!
For some strange reason, the surroundings upon entering the building made me reminisce on various experiences. The clicking-buzzing sound the door made when being unlocked reminded me of the security gate opening to the building where I always used to get my nails done. The long, narrow and steep staircase retained the vivid image in my head of the Frankfurt airport escalators. The creaky hardwood floors gave me the same comfort my childhood home did. Welcomed by the smell of incense, I jumped back to when I was fourteen sitting in my best friends room, probably talking about cats.
The meditation room feel was enhanced when we were welcomed by a man wearing harem pants that asked us to take off our shoes. I was disappointed when this friendly man told us that we weren’t allowed to take electronics into the room, and even more so when I saw the neon pink signage on the ceiling reading ‘dream house’. What a perfect Instagram post that would have been. Mixed emotions of being scared and confused consumed me when I first opened the door. The loud, uncomfortably unfamiliar sound was unpleasant to my sensitive ear. I honestly still cannot put into words what that sound was like. I guess it was a mix between a ringing, constant buzz and beeping sound.
The visual appearance of the ‘house’ was the most fascinating aspect in my opinion. Even attempting to close my eyes, I struggled to appreciate the environment like I did admiring the shadows that were cast onto the walls by the lights shining in different directions. The art hanging from the ceiling, which I am assuming was made out of a paper-like material, had pink light cast on it from different angles so that the same piece would have different shadow shapes. I’m always so fascinated with art that works in different dimensions.
Overall, this installation was very unique and relevant to the class type. This opened my eyes to how I might use sound, lighting and visuals to create a mood for my final project.
