Submergence: Hundreds of Floating LED Lights Dazzle Visitors at Oslo’s Galleri ROM

If you've ever dreamt of walking through a glittering starscape, then you won't want to miss this <em>Submergence</em> art installation. Designed by <a href="http://www.squidsoup.org/blog/" target="_blank">Squidsoup</a>, the installation features 8,064 <a href="http://inhabitat.com/amsterdams-light-festival-sets-the-city-aglow-with-magical-led-installations/" target="_blank">floating LED lights</a> strung from the ceiling of Galleri ROM in Olso, Norway. As guests pass through the lights, the installation reacts to their presence, creating an <a href="http://inhabitat.com/berlins-glowing-tree-concert-plays-ambient-nature-songs-as-chestnuts-fall-from-a-tree/" target="_blank">audiovisual display</a> that can range from tranquil to hectic, making guests feel as if they are encapsulated by light.

<a href="http://www.squidsoup.org/blog/" target="_blank">Squidsoup</a>'s Submergence installation alters the perspective of viewers with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/datagrove-is-a-vibrant-led-illuminated-interactive-installation-of-whispering-branches-in-california/" target="_blank">glowing lights</a> that range from tiny specs to larger bulbs.

From afar, the installation appears to be a hanging cube of lights dangling in motionless form.

But as visitors pass through the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/travesias-de-luzs-mar-marea-is-a-glowing-light-installation-in-portugal-inspired-by-water/" target="_blank">rows of lights</a>, the bulbs pulsate in synchronized patterns that can increase in intensity, causing visitors to lose track of where they are in the gallery.

The piece morphs from darkness to a myriad of colors, sometimes slowly, and sometimes at an energetic frequency, causing further spatial confusion.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-lux-helsinki-festival-illuminates-the-city-center-in-the-dark-finnish-winter/" target="_blank">light installation</a> transforms from hazy rain-like violet to gauzy orange, alarming red, and other colors that evoke a feeling of calm or anxiety. The jarring and disorienting display is further amplified by the accompanying soundtrack, which can at times blare energetic and pulsating electronic sounds, setting the transformative mood.

Submergence was designed by a group of artists, researchers and designers, seeking to create a work that would evoke a virtual world through sound, light and space, controllable by each visitor.