What is phygital space?
The beginning of the XXI century will go down in the history of art as the beginning of the digital era. Powerful computers, software for 3D modeling, animation and interactive content allowed artists to experiment with new formats. The Internet has become a platform for promotion, social networks, online galleries and NFT markets (eg OpenSea) have given artists access to a global audience. This contributed to the commercial success of digital projects. Interactive exhibitions, immersing in the atmosphere, immersive spaces like L'Atelier des Lumières in Paris or the teamLab museum in Tokyo have become new points of attraction. Cultural changes contributed to the fact that art is now perceived not only as a static object, but also as a process, interaction.
Mykola Kabluka, lighting designer, founder and art director of the companies Expolight and Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
All this created the conditions for an explosive growth in the popularity of digital art and related activities. But the evolution continues, Mykola Kabluka, light designer, founder and art director of the companies Expolight and Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures, is sure: "After the wave that brought us the appearance of digital galleries and plunged into installations from light artists, we see a new trend: the emergence of museums where all the advantages of digital technologies are used in order to emphasize the undeniable qualities of material exhibits. I call such spaces phygital — physical-digital."
New museums require a new approach to lighting. New exhibition spaces for the Center for Contemporary Culture in Dnipro (DCCC). Photo courtesy of Expolight
Kelly's laws for gallery light and new challenges
There are museum norms and lighting standards, based on years of experience and experiments. Exposure light is a specific combination of three main types of lighting, which were so romantically and imaginatively described by lighting design pioneer Robert Kelly back in 1952 in his essay "Light as an Integral Part of Architecture."
Gallery lighting is more than a technical element of design. It sets the atmosphere, helps reveal nuances of texture and color, and even creates an emotional connection
Ambient luminescence (light environment), or "light to see": "Morning light on a snowy field, twilight haze on a wide river, where shore, water and sky are inseparable from each other. It's silent lighting that minimizes shape and volume."
Focal glow (accent lighting), or "light to see": "This is the beam of the spotlight on the stage. This is the reflection of the sun on your table. This is a sunbeam illuminating the edge of the valley. Accent light attracts attention, it helps highlight important things."
Play of brilliants (decorative lighting), or “light to see”: “This is Times Square at night, this is a ballroom illuminated by crystal chandeliers. These are sunny bunnies in a fountain or ripples of a stream. It's a handful of diamonds in the sunlight. "The glow of diamonds" excites the optic nerve, awakens curiosity, sharpens wit."
The proportions of different types of lighting, the choice of equipment, the installation points of light sources, the temperature, the intensity of the light flux, the angle of incidence - all this is a difficult and responsible task. But today, gallery lighting is more than a technical element of design: it is a bridge between the work of art and the viewer. It sets the atmosphere, helps reveal nuances of texture and color, and even creates an emotional connection.
Center of Contemporary Culture in Dnipro (DCCC). Photo courtesy of Expolight
"Light doesn't just highlight an object — it transforms space into a dramatic performance," Mykola Kabluka notes. "It is literally important, "in what light" to present a work of art."
And what if the work of art exhibited in the gallery is not a watercolor or an oil painting, not a sculpture or an installation, but a digital object protected by an NFT token? The task is getting more complicated.
The Metaroom is an immersive space at 37x Digital Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE. Photo courtesy of Expolight
"37x" and the immersive room: a portal to infinity
One of the iconic projects of the company was the gallery "37x" in Dubai, located in the prestigious area of Dubai International Financial Center in the Burj Daman tower. The customers who chose the location near the Sheikh's palace for the new gallery were not limited in funds. To implement their overambitious ideas, they chose the Ukrainian team from all the companies, from all the artists of the world with world names.
"Partly it was a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine, but the decisive role was played by recommendations from completely different sources, which characterized us as an interdisciplinary team with the highest professional level and creative approach. The gallery was created for the exhibition of collections of NFT objects, but not only. Modern galleries are flexible creative spaces that can be the venue for a wide variety of events, from business meetings and lectures to club parties.
The X-Palette Cloud Control intelligent management system allows you to control the lighting scenario in the "37x" gallery. Photo courtesy of Expolight
The X-Palette Cloud Control intelligent management system allows you to control the lighting scenario in the "37x" gallery. Photo courtesy of Expolight
The X-Palette Cloud Control intelligent management system allows you to control the lighting scenario in the "37x" gallery. Photo courtesy of Expolight
The X-Palette Cloud Control intelligent management system allows you to control the lighting scenario in the "37x" gallery. Photo courtesy of Expolight
The X-Palette Cloud Control intelligent management system allows you to control the lighting scenario in the "37x" gallery. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Top brands are no longer interested in holding their events in conference halls or restaurants, they choose non-traditional locations for their corporate meetings, in particular gallery spaces. The concept of the "37x" gallery assumed that it would be just such a multifunctional place," explained Mykola Kabluka.
The interior of the gallery impresses with minimalism and technology. Physical space is like a canvas for the main artist - light.
"We were connected to the project at the stage of the architectural concept and planning of functional areas. Our task included creating lighting scenarios for different spaces, developing navigation, exposure light. But we proposed to add to the list - to create a room completely cut off from other spaces for deep immersion using the interaction of light, sound and architecture.
The sculptural installation "Tree of Life" was created by Mykola Kabluka together with designer Valery Kuznetsov. Photo courtesy of Expolight
I would say that in the end we achieved an absolutely futuristic, powerful result. For our Metaroom (The Metaroom), we have developed unique circular projections with 3D mapping. This is a labyrinth room, at the entrance of which are built-in mirrors with 4K screens hidden under amalgam. They create a recursion — a multitude of imprints, turning space into infinity. There are projections that are projected onto the floor by lasers integrated into the ceiling, and there are smoke installations where we bring light into the fourth dimension where you can literally touch it. Sensors similar to the lidars used by artificial intelligence in Tesla electric cars position a person, analyze the dynamics of his movement and, on this basis, create new, unique content in real time."
Digital technologies together with "lamp" optical illusions create a magical reality, which, however, is subject to man and closely interacts with him.
"We can "dress up" our immersive room, update the graphics for each individual occasion. The ways to configure and expand the possibilities of an immersive room are practically limitless. We have already created custom scenarios and content several times for various events, for example, for the presentations of Binance or fashion brands at the level of Louis Vuitton and Patek Philippe, to which they invited partners from all over the world."
The "Tree of Life" art object reacts to the movement of the guest, creating new images. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Expolight also developed several unique digital art objects that became part of the museum ecosystem. The sculptural installation "Tree of Life" was created together with the designer Valery Kuznetsov.
"We configured a visually complex structure, a kind of neural tree-like system, which, combined with digital technologies, becomes a matrix for projections. Each visitor can create his own art, become a co-author, choosing the color scheme, pattern options, ornament density, and set the dynamics for the new object with his body movements. And watch the tree come to life," says Mykola.
At the core of this powerful generative design platform is software developed by the Expolight team, which also allows you to remotely create new content and upload it via cloud services.
New scenarios for The Metaroom immersive room can be developed and downloaded remotely. Photo courtesy of Expolight
"All 37x settings are based on our signature intelligent Expolight Cloud Control system, which allows you to control the lighting scenario — from calm working light to dramatic lighting for evening events. Everything is adjusted according to the wishes of the customer - whether it's a corporate dinner or the premiere of a new NFT collection, - explains Kabluka. — And this management is extremely simple, a person does not need to set up some complex remote control with many parameters, because he can control the gallery with the help of several buttons. And we can reconfigure every detail of the space from anywhere in the world. I don't even know who, apart from us, in the world is ready to solve similar tasks in a complex."
One of the most beautiful old buildings of the Dnipro became the home of the DCCC Center for Contemporary Culture. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Dnipro Cultural Hub: Architecture, Light and Innovation at DCCC
The Center of Contemporary Culture in Dnipro (DCCC) is a cultural hub whose role is to become an integral element of a progressive European city. The complex project of creating spaces for the gallery has been implemented for the past five years. Famous Ukrainian architects and Expolight lighting designers participate in it. The exhibition spaces are located in the building of the former provincial zemstvo, built in the 19th century.
The historic building has become a home for new ideas. The architectural monument has many individual characteristics and features: exposed brickwork, rich stucco, very high ceilings, decorated facade. The museum space itself is so original that it seems as if the walls can overshadow the exhibits. The task of the lighting designers was also to emphasize the dignity of the architecture, but to emphasize the expositions. In principle, is it possible to make friends with the atmospheric architecture of the end of the 19th century and the ultra-modern art of the digital age?
The light allows you to tactfully highlight the architectural advantages of the building, but focus on the exhibits. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Mykola Kabluka believes that light itself is an ideal mediator and tool for this purpose: "We sought to preserve the scars of time, because they tell their story. This is not just a building - it is a memory of the past, and it is important to respect it. We have implemented innovative technologies that allow you to fully adapt the lighting for each exhibition. For example, each lamp has its own address and can be adjusted so that the light emphasizes the details of the works or creates a dramatic atmosphere."
The example of the renovation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), carried out in 2019, suggested some ideas of Ukrainian light artists. The large-scale project, worth about 450 million dollars, set, in particular, a new bar for gallery light. As part of the renovation, MoMA changed the traditional concept: new technologies allowed for the creation of individualized lighting adapted to specific works and exhibitions.
Modern galleries are flexible creative spaces that can be the venue for a wide variety of events, from business meetings and lectures to club parties
The founder of Expolight shares: “We were in contact with colleagues who worked on MoMA's lighting design. Their experience became a guideline for us, but we adapted it to the specifics of our project. Today, the DCCC spaces are equipped with accent lamps to emphasize the details of the works, lamps for uniform illumination of large spaces, lamps with an adjustable focus that allow you to change the angle and intensity of light. And also with frame lights that highlight the canvas of the picture with millimeter accuracy, creating a lightbox effect, leaving the wall in deep shadow.
Innovative technologies allow you to adapt the lighting to each exhibition or event. Photo courtesy of Expolight
We have developed custom software that makes the setup process intuitive even for authors and artists who work with such equipment for the first time. This gives them the freedom to experiment with light and create unique scenarios for their works," says Kabluka.
Another innovation is the ability to change the light spectrum. "The artist can choose to use warm light, reminiscent of candlelight, or neutral daylight, which reveals all the nuances of the work. This flexibility opens completely new facets of perception."
The energy of ideas
The DCCC hosts theater productions, film screenings, workshops, hackathons and festivals. The space is organized in such a way that it can be easily transformed for various events. Light scenarios allow you to literally reset the perception of premises. It can be a gallery during the day, and a theater stage or a buffet area in the evening.
Gallery light should work for the art, not destroy its context. Photo courtesy of Expolight
"We see how lighting transforms halls: their dimensions, atmosphere, mood. It's like magic that allows you to create new worlds within the same space. For all the diversity of technologies and the richness of our imagination, we strive for a tactful effect, understanding that gallery light should work for the art, and not destroy its context, says Kabluka. — However, DCCC is not a traditional museum, but a place where creative life is raging. Residences for young artists are located here, educational projects are implemented and international festivals take place. Therefore, this task for us is not about walls and exhibits, but about people, their ideas and energy."
An important part of the center is the open courtyard, where outdoor activities are held. Patio lighting is adaptable for use in different modes. For example, for evening events, the light is adjusted to create a chamber atmosphere or a festive, ceremonial mood.
The artist can choose: to use warm light, reminiscent of candlelight, or neutral daylight, which reveals all the nuances of the work. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Since Ukraine is facing energy challenges today, the project for DCCC is adapted to new realities. "We have developed a solution based on powerful batteries that allow exhibitions to be held even when there is no electricity. This equipment can be used for pop-up exhibitions at outdoor venues," explained the art director of Expolight.
The light creates the effect of a smooth transition from the interior of the museum to the open square. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Assumption Square and DSSS
The museum complex is closely connected with the adjacent location — the renovated Uspenskaya Square. These two spaces form a single ensemble. Previously, the road cut through the territory, turning the square into an isolated, unused area. Now the space has become accessible and pedestrian, which emphasizes its synergy with the museum.
"We saw the need to connect the museum space with the city in order not only to open the doors of the center for people, but also to make the environment a continuation of its ideas. Expolight was responsible for the lighting design of both objects, says Mykola Kabluka. — We sought to create the effect of a smooth transition from the interior space of the museum to the open square. The square has interactive light lines that react to the movement of pedestrians. As people walk through the square, the light literally comes alive, interacting with them. It symbolizes the energy that comes from the center and spreads further into the city."
The lighting of Assumption Square interacts with pedestrians. Photo courtesy of Expolight
Assumption Square and DCCC not only complement each other, but also create a unique cultural hub, a magnet and a catalyst for creative processes in the city. Today, the square is used as an open stage for cultural events. Temporary exhibitions, installations, concerts and other events take place here. Special zones with flexible lighting are provided for placing temporary exhibitions on the square.
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA will tell you more about the trends and professional secrets of modeling the atmosphere with the help of light in modern public spaces, urban and suburban, in the following material, prepared together with Expolight and Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures.
