Taking inspiration from the cave allegory, one of the most famous metaphors in the history of philosophy, Novus Sensus creates an interactive light environment that pushes the boundaries between reality and fiction. The metaphor of the cave in Plato’s treatise on the theory of the state put into the mouth of Socrates, used the cave as a symbolic representation of the way man exists in the world, contrasting reality with the way we interpret it for ourselves, since according to Plato’s doctrine of ideas, the things we experience with our senses are but imperfect shadows of what we think. In Zemba’s installation, the modularly generated projection mapping creates the illusion of a shadow play gathered from real-time experience, while at the same time leaving the visitor uncertain whether to trust his or her presumed knowledge or to rely on delusional illusions.

Ákos Zemba (1995, Covasna) works at the intersection of virtual architecture and interactive design, creating participatory installations characterized by a radicalism of sensory experience. Her practice pushes the legal-aesthetic issues of anonymity and the transparency of community information, while deeply resonating with the challenges of today’s increasing use of “big data”, which is becoming more and more subject to identification and control.