Confined Aquarium

Confined Aquarium is an immersive installation that transforms an everyday bathroom into a reflective underwater environment through projection mapping, personal footage, and layered physical elements. Inspired by memories of aquarium visits, the work reimagines a familiar space as a quiet, meditative retreat shaped by light, motion, and nostalgia.

The project began as a small-scale experiment in my own bathroom and later expanded into a full installation for the ITP IMA 2025 Spring Show. The space was constructed using handmade props, including white curtains, hanging styrofoam spheres, a reworked clock, and sculptural jellyfish, with each surface projection mapped to create an enveloping environment. Aquarium footage, candid recordings, and motion graphics drift across layered planes, blending memory, light, and architecture.

Jellyfish visuals were created in After Effects and projected onto a shower curtain, while real jellyfish footage appeared inside a holographic box. Archival clips such as a fish swimming within a clock and spontaneous recordings from a dentist’s office introduce themes of time, playfulness, and fragmented memory. Reflections in the mirror amplify the immersive effect, turning the space into a layered sensory environment.

A custom MIDI controller originally built for Ephemerality was repurposed to manipulate jellyfish visuals in real time using MadMapper, allowing changes in speed, color, and pattern. Experienced by over 400 visitors, the installation invited curiosity and interaction, with children finding it playful and others describing it as calming and meditative. Confined Aquarium is a quiet homage to marine life and the beauty that can emerge in unexpected, everyday spaces.