Subtle States

Vadim Mirgorodskii

We created an interactive performance space that transformed a classical music concert into a deeply personal, immersive experience. Music has the power to shift a person’s inner state — to stir reflection, unlock emotions, and awaken unexpected insights. We were particularly interested in capturing that moment of introspection, when listeners turn inward and connect with themselves. Throughout the performance, each audience member could track their emotions in real time and select them from a list on their phones. Instead of the usual 10–15 generic terms people often use to describe feelings, we offered a vocabulary of over 150 nuanced emotional states — aiming to expand the language of self-awareness and allow for deeper emotional recognition. The selected emotions were projected as floating words onto a transparent mesh screen in real time, creating the illusion of suspended, moving objects. The animation of these words was driven by air swirl dynamics and the physics of particle interaction. This infinite, organic motion drew the audience into a meditative state, amplifying their perception of the music and the live performance.

Project Collaborators:

Music composed by: Igor Yakovenko;

Creative Idea/Art-direction: Anya Muksunova / Vadim Mirgorodskii;

Real-time coding/projection set-up: Vadim Goncharov / Vadim Mirgorodskii;

Web interface: Vadim Goncharov;