Digital

Auckland War Memorial Museum 4 Toybox Post & Animation 3 Kei konei koe You are here

Finalist
2021 Installation & Exhibition
Credits
  • Pou Auaha / Creative Director
    Toybox Post & Animation
  • Ringatoi Matua / Design Directors
    Toybox Post & Animation - Daniel McKay, Freya Walker Smith, Bruce Carter, Nanette Miles, Post Production Sound - Nigel Foster, Touchdesigner Developers - PleasureKraft & opLab - Olivier Jean & Puck Murphy, Designers – Thylacine, Lead Contractor – Dimension Shopfitters, Steel Fabrication – George Grant Engineering, 3D Map File – Andy Hoey, Corian Map – Cutting Innovations, Structural Engineers - Holmes Consulting
  • Ngā Kaimahi / Team Members
    Lizzie Wratislav, Louise Langdon, Guy Annan, Liam Brown, Ed Waaka, Gilbert Zhao, Josie Galbraith, Jane Groufsky, Tharron Bloomfield, Andrea Low, Lucy Mackintosh, Katie Skinner, Kara Woodward, Kelly Skelton
  • Kaitautoko / Contributors
    Rebecca Lal, Kirsten O'Regan, Mereana Taungapeau, Rachael Davies
Description:

Kei konei koe You are here is a monumental installation at the heart of a new, long-term exhibition exploring the diverse stories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

The installation consists of a 7-metre diameter, 360° tilted ring encircling an oval-shaped table. The table’s surface is a low-profile, relief map of the Auckland region with buttons at one end to activate the 4 chapters. Both table and cyclorama are used simultaneously as projection surfaces and are synced with surround sound to create a multi-perspectival, immersive experience environment.

Kei konei koe offers a central hub in an exhibition that is designed as a non-linear visitor experience. Working with our creative partners, we set out to develop content that would support this context and create a place where visitors can have an experience grounded in temporal and spatial orientation, foreshadowing the themes and narratives of the wider exhibition.

Split into four, 90-second chapters, the content traverses geological time through to today. Each chapter immerses you in a different period in time and together they offer an impression of how Tāmaki Makaurau has changed over time. The chapter divisions were determined by significant turning points in Auckland’s geological and social history – the eruption of Rangtitoto, the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the turn of the twentieth century and Auckland’s emergence as a modern city.

The biggest challenge and opportunity in creating this experience was to design content that made the most of the unique architecture. Through the development process, we set out to explore how the two projection surfaces could be employed together to create a comfortable, engaging and meaningful visitor experience. Developing the content was a choreography. Moments of movement on the cyclorama are balanced by calm on the table, animation and directional sound guide the viewer’s attention and shift the gaze from the table up to the cyclorama and around. Full panoramic immersion punctuates more contained scenes revealing Auckland from multiple perspectives and in unexpected or surprising ways.

The delivery of this experience uses advanced projection mapping techniques, auto-calibration and emulation of a crisp 4K resolution. Projection mapping onto these surfaces involved complex geometry to ensure the content was displayed correctly on all parts of the cyclorama and table.

Kei konei koe’s scale, striking form and immersive content make it an instant beacon for visitors. Since its public opening in March 2021, visitors have cited Kei konei koe as their favourite part of their visit. Audiences have described it as ‘immersive and interesting’, and that they ‘hadn’t seen Auckland like that before’.