Trans Realities Lab presents installation at Glow Festival

The Trans Realities Manufacturing Company is a fictional company that introduces advanced lighting products to the market. Here, in their factory, nestled in the grey area between Emmasingel and Lichtplein, you’ll find yourself in a mysterious interstitial zone. It’s a place where new methods come to life with the help of otherworldly machines and peculiar components.

The employees of this make-believe company honour the past and propel forward with the latest technologies like XR and AI, drawing inspiration from the creative minds behind comic strips and cartoons, such as Rowland Emett, Heath Robinson, and Rube Goldberg. The Trans Realities Manufacturing Company throws the doors open to an alternative reality. As a visitor, you might even question if the staff themselves are real. You’re challenged to pay close attention. What’s truly happening, and who might be just an illusion?

Five floors above you, you’ll find the Trans Realities Lab of the Design Academy Eindhoven. In this laboratory, technologies are tested and scrutinised for their societal applications. With this installation, the lab delves into the spirit of this location and confronts the history of this area to reveal its pivotal role in the industrialisation of Eindhoven. The historical dimension of this project transports you to a time when Eindhoven began to shine, and light and electricity pulsated through the city’s veins. With this installation, the team casts a glance into the future, experimenting with the potentials of XR and AI technologies and how these technologies will influence and shape the future of design, art, research, and education.

The students who brought this project to life are Thibaud Henique and Zak Silver-Lennard, recent graduates of DAE. These pioneers, along with fourth-year students from Professor Biscoe’s Digital Hybrid/Interactive/Performative Module, played a crucial role in the realisation and operation of the installation.

Read more about the project on the Glow Festival website.