Behnaz Farahi creates Ocean of Dreams video installation for MIT Future Fest

US-based designer Behnaz Farahi and the Critical Matter Group at the MIT Media Lab have projected sounds and video of the ocean alongside crowd-sourced messages into a public square for the university’s inaugural Future Fest symposium.

Called Ocean of Dreams, the installation was projected from the top of the MIT Museum down onto Kendall Plaza, a central square for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Farahi, who leads MIT Media Lab’s Critical Matter Group, mounted two Panasonic 30,000-lumen laser projectors and loaded an aerial view of the tides coming in and out for a hyper-realistic depiction of the ocean.

In the video, underneath the lapping waves, were words and phrases in dozens of languages collected from more than 400 international participants. Phrases such as “end to all wars” and “end poverty” were included to represent a hopeful vision of the future.

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“Ocean of Dreams approaches hope not as passive optimism, but as a form of agency, the capacity to imagine that things could be otherwise,” said Farahi.

“At a time when the future feels increasingly uncertain and shaped by anxiety, I wanted to create a space where people could reclaim the act of imagining it. Perhaps one of the most radical things we can do right now is imagine.”

The footage was derived from the work of photographer Jan Erik Waider, while ocean sounds were mixed with ambient tracks from musician Justin Boreta.

In total, the projection surface covered around 2,850 square feet (264 square metres) and passersby could walk directly through the projection.

For Farahi, the installation represented a “way of thinking” beyond simply “designing objects”.

“From that perspective, we can also think about designing the future: not predicting it, but actively imagining and shaping the kinds of futures we want to live in,” said Farahi.

“For me, design is ultimately a way of asking: what could be otherwise, and how might we help bring that possibility into being. That is also how I think about Ocean of Dreams, as a space for collectively imagining and designing possible futures.”

It was the centerpoint of Future Fest, which brought together MIT scholars and outside thinkers to talk about evolving technologies. For the inaugural year, the festival focused on issues surrounding the ocean and included talks and open labs.

MIT Museum director Michael John Gorman, who led the event’s organisation, commented on the quick turnaround by Farahi, her students, and colleagues.

“She and her students pulled that together in three weeks just for this,” he told Dezeen.

Gorman said this shows the university’s attitude toward the event, which came together to support the festival.

Other recent sensory installations include Aesop’s suspension of paper books to create temporary perfumeries and an immersive kaleidoscopic installation in a New York skyscraper.

Future Fest took place from 30 September to 4 October in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more events in architecture and design, visit Dezeen Events Guide.