Villareal “Multiverse” National Gallery of Art, Washington DC from Walter Patrick Smith, AIA on Vimeo.

This video shows what it looks like to stand on the moving walkway passing through the Multiverse exhibit. The patterns of light are, in fact, not patterns at all. The software designed by Villareal creates abstract configurations of light, while allowing some randomness and elements of chance. That means there is a small probability that an observer would find a repeating sequence, but the possibility is fleetingly small. The rate at which the lights travel down the tunnel can generate images like ‘hyperspace jumps’ in Star Wars, or alternatively can appear to slow time. The natural tendency of human beings is to apply pattern recognition to our experiences, Multiverse’s trailing lights will create the hypnotic appearance of meta-structure, while the effect is actually chaotic. I think it’s engrossing and magical.