SubTurku 1827
An art branch of the Turku 1827 project, the SubTurku 1827 is a video projection experience made for the Valonpolku Festival 2022 at the city of Turku, Finland. Projected in the side wall of the castle, this project was a landmark into the fast and affordable exhibition content made from existing virtual worlds.
With the theme of the exhibition chosen as the water and its relationship with the city, this artwork proposed to reimagine the destruction of the city in 1827 by water instead of fire, bringing reflections on the modern problems of the rise of the sea levels and the impact such a catastrophe could have in the legacy and the future of the city.
The project was created by adapting the existing Turku 1827 project into a new narrative, reutilizing the same existing virtual world but with a different atmosphere and lighting. New adjustments were made to introduce underwater deterioration on the buildings and adding submarine fauna and flora in the scene.
With the theme of the exhibition chosen as the water and its relationship with the city, this artwork proposed to reimagine the destruction of the city in 1827 by water instead of fire, bringing reflections on the modern problems of the rise of the sea levels and the impact such a catastrophe could have in the legacy and the future of the city.
The project was created by adapting the existing Turku 1827 project into a new narrative, reutilizing the same existing virtual world but with a different atmosphere and lighting. New adjustments were made to introduce underwater deterioration on the buildings and adding submarine fauna and flora in the scene.
A new way to plan and execute light art exhibitions
For this project we benefited to the maximum of having the Turku 1827 open-source model available, it has allowed us to easily prototype the video and especially the whole user experience by simulating how the public would see it in the real castle..
After the initial digital simulation tests we noticed that we needed to have the castle wall texture as close as possible to the real one to see how light would behave in snowy and dirty conditions, but the model from 1827 was too clean for that. So we commissioned a 3D Scan with Lassi Kaukonen, a highly skilled local 3D artist, to achieve a precise replica of the modern castle.
With the new modern version scanned, we simulated the light projection and adapted the content to fit the wall geometry and texture as best as possible. This process saved us a lot of time since we didn't have to go to the real castle to try it out and wait for the ideal weather conditions and, since everything was previously tested and validated digitally, during the physical setup just a few minor brightness adjustments were needed and solved in only a few minutes, saving time and budget for both us and the clients.
After the initial digital simulation tests we noticed that we needed to have the castle wall texture as close as possible to the real one to see how light would behave in snowy and dirty conditions, but the model from 1827 was too clean for that. So we commissioned a 3D Scan with Lassi Kaukonen, a highly skilled local 3D artist, to achieve a precise replica of the modern castle.
With the new modern version scanned, we simulated the light projection and adapted the content to fit the wall geometry and texture as best as possible. This process saved us a lot of time since we didn't have to go to the real castle to try it out and wait for the ideal weather conditions and, since everything was previously tested and validated digitally, during the physical setup just a few minor brightness adjustments were needed and solved in only a few minutes, saving time and budget for both us and the clients.