Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness

The JOURNEY INTO THE UNIVERSE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

is the coordination of different states of perception as the basic principle of movement and of life in a fractal cosmos of synapses, where nothing truly disappears and where everything transmutes into new forms of implementation.

The project "Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness” won the competition held by the Center for Creativity of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture, is produced by Rosa Production in collaboration with the Herman Potočnik Noordung Center of Space Technologies and is being excecuted under the artistic direction of the architect, audiovisual artist and creative coordinator of the Institute for Audiovisual and Performing Arts IND - Intimate Notions' Dream of Ljubljana Raj X Tot (Per Per Tot).

Brainwave map from the Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness

The project is an interactive multimedia art installation as well as an educational event. Visitors can place brain sensors on their foreheads and then use VR glasses to witness a three-dimensional video that tells the story of the journey of the sphinx who, as the keeper of knowledge, explores the core of its being through a 3D flight into the realm of its dreams. At the same time, the front sensor reads the brain wave frequency signals, which are then translated into a graphic image with precisely defined parameters via the (BCI) Brainwave Computer Interface, a specially adapted computer software. These video brain maps reflect the viewers various states of meditation, concentration and movement and various cognitive, psychophysical and emotional states.

Screenshot from VR video - link to the 2D presentation of the 3D VR video.

The Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness addresses the individual's intimate desire to acquire new knowledge and discover new feelings about themselves, the world and the universe. In a broader sense, it offers an innovative expressive solution on the intersection of science and art. In this context, three conferences were organised with professors and experts of cognitive sciences, robotic technology and techniques of visual communication, virtual reality, 3D and architecture in spaces with zero gravity.

The installation consists of an arrangement of synaptic sails onto which the brain waves of visitors are being projected. They embark on their inner journey seated on capsules or seats specially designed for the occasion in an internal competition by the students of ALUO, the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design.

The parameters of the brain waves and their basic meaning are explained to the visitors in a specific legend in Slovene and English language for foreign visitors and for hosting the installation in other venues outside the Noordung Center on occasions such as international shows or festivals of contemporary art and digital technologies (e.g. Ars Electronica in Linz, Sonar in Barcelona, the Athens Digital Arts Festival). The installation is also ment to be part of the set design for the event in December 2022 on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the birth of Herman Potočnik Noordung, who is considered one of the pioneers of rocket science and space travel.

Synaptic sail with brainwave map projection

CREATIVE-CULTURAL IMPACT

The Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness is an INTIMATE EXPERIENCE of living intended as an experience of creative vitality, which differs from bare survival. It is the ecstasy of an expressive wisdom, the living reflection of the confrontation with the nature of one's mission. It is a deep REFLECTION on oneself, on the world and on the trans meaning of BEING KNOWLEDGE or of being in a state free from cultural conflicts, in a state in which we can become aware of the subconscious and in which the essence of knowledge is the interaction of meanings and not their relevance. It is a state of fulfillment of time or of all times. Here the consciousness of the interdependence of all the elements of the cosmos is realized. It is here that the transformation into a creative cycle of a co-creation of forms, of still unimaginable realizations takes place, enriching the cultural space and promoting dialogue in a spirit of creative awareness.

IMPACT ON THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

The project reflects the inspiration that comes from the crossroads of cultures in the heart of Europe. In the spirit of the pronounced influence of the historical avant-gardes, it represents the construction of art in a specific universal language that derives from this multicultural origin. It is a constructive and poetic blend of dynamic diversity and intimate expressions combined with the idea of an infinite moment. The concept of the story was created years ago in Barcelona, when Raj Per Tot and the composer Riccardo Massari Spiritini finalized it in the sound poem "Let sfinge" or The Flight of the Sphinx. This story has been further enriched with the experience and contribution in the design, installation and programming of the BCI and VR system, by the video designer Antonio Giacomin. The multicultural element was indirectly realized in "space" and physically crystallized on December 19, 2021, at the final presentation of the installation "Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness” at the Herman Potočnik Noordung Center of Space Technologies in Vitanje in Slovenia.

Brain waves projections test - Link to the video: https://vimeo.com/644833578

SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROJECT

An important message of the project is in the search for a centered placement of the individual in the social context. Self-examination is a form of seeking the guiding directions to accomplish our mission. The answer to the questions posed is therefore not a final directive or a specific law of action, but rather an aid in dealing with the fact that we have nowhere to escape to from our specific vitality. Perhaps the answer is just an added push to strive to live the fullness of our life, especially when we step into living in an unknown space filled with creative utopias and intimate truths.

SUSTAINABILITY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The sustainable aspect of the construction of the future is based on the potential possibilities of realizing visions of cohabitation and coexistence. These findings are primarily a reflection of first-person research and confidence in a cognitive self-esteem, which is able to understand various aspects of perceptual data. In our project, we try to enrich our self-esteem with video segment projections of the cerebral graphics, which are the main part of our project. Our research on consciousness and self-awareness is based on the thesis that the brain is a creative perceptual organism, that is, an advanced system for receiving and transmitting signals of psychophysical states inside and outside the body. The goal of this organism is the realization of embodied thought and its adaptation to the changeable truth of a specific mission. The reading, understanding and implementation of these intuitions is the reflection of millions of years of a genetic evolution of intelligence capable of making decisions for the benefit of the life cycle and in favor of coexistence between the individual and his living environment.

CONCLUSIVE THOUGHT

To take responsibility towards oneself and placing one's identity in space requires a high level of confidence in one's ability to adapt to challenges and the ability to live and create in a state of constant constructive imperfection, in a state of a hypothetical ideal, where each peak is a limit at infinity. By itself, this vital continuum is reassuring, especially if we aim to live in a gravity-free environment, where space can be friendly or hostile, where the universe can expand or contract, or perhaps can breathe in the unity of a pulse that from our perceptive perspective we are not yet able to entirely detect. All that remains for us to do is to love what lives constantly and completely.

Cocreators and collaborators of the project Journey Into the Universe of Consciousness

Concept and art direction: Raj X Tot

Production: Rosa Production
Director: Svetlana Dramlić
Assistent of producer: Urška Voh

Co-organizer, consultant and promoter: Herman Potočnik Noordung Center of Space Technologies
Mentorship: dr. Dominik Kobold
Organization: Tanja Tamše

VR technology, programming and design of sensors graphics: Fluido.it and Antonio Giacomin
Design of 3D ambients: Raj X Tot and Antonio Giacomin

VR Soundtrack: (from Let Sfinge - The Flight of the Sphinx) Raj X Tot and Riccardo Massari Spiritini
Vocal interpretation: Raj Kraljev

Architectural plans and renders: arch. Raj X Tot and arch. Emir Jelkič

SEAT - HI design - Winners of the internal competition at UL ALUO-IO (The Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design) in the class MA Integral Approaches in Design 1: Jo Zornik and Pia Groleger

Narrator and proof reader of all contents: Vesna Maria Maher

Building of the installation structure: Uroš Mehle
Realization of synaptic sails: Irena Lap

Links to the Cycle of lectures (only in Slovenian language):

1 - dr. Urban Kordeš - Consciousness in Space or Space in Consciousness
Zavest v vesolju ali vesolje v zavesti

2 - dr. Maša Jazbec in dr. Uroš Ocepek - The Connecting of Robotic Industries, Scientific Findings About Art and the Humanization of Technology
Povezovanje robotske industrije, znanstvenih dognanj o umetnosti in humanizaciji tehnologij

3 - arch. Raj X Tot and AV-VR designer Antonio Giacomin - Consciousness About the Living in Zero Gravity and Performing Arts and Implementation of VR Technologies in the Audiovsual Arts
Zavest o bvalnosti v breztežnosti in uprizoritveni umetnosti in Implementacija VR tehnologije v avdiovizualni umetnosti

WORDS FREE ORBITAL SEACenter Noordung, Vitanje, 2024 WORDS FREE ORBITAL SEA - youtube link The video is a propitiatory dance of architectural prototypes, orbital theatres (Ottovolante, Panorama, Terraxterra and Trabicolo) ...