Soft Keys
This space, filled with memories and life, can teach in new ways, can grow with love
Drawing on previous creative research of our organisation on the subject of extended cognition and involving new scientific resources focused on neuroarchitecture and cultural evolution, Soft Keys brings a fresh perspective on knowledge enhancement, building an imaginative environment where wisdom is passed on from the old to the young.
The project involves development phases in Venice and Bucharest, contributing to the creation of an immersive art installation that is to be exhibited at MINA, Museum of Immersive New Art in September 2025.
Soft Keys is put together in collaboration with the international neuro-anthropological research group TRACE and the Romanian educational platform based on applied neuroscience and psychology Mind Architect.
Creative team
Emilia Păunescu / artistic direction
Sabin Țenea / architect
Yuri Ancarani / video art
Lucia / music
Judith State / underwater performance
The experience of the installation is similar to a poetic treasure hunt, where mysteries are partly uncovered, partly an open invitation for the visitors to fill in.
The space is enciphered with knowledge keys, valuable insights on life, collected through in-depth interviews with elders from two different cultural settings and processed with the support of our scientific partners. This way they are “translated” into relevant advice young people can use to overcome the challenges they face today.
The immersive environment is built following principles from neuroscience, stimulating mentally and emotionally the visitors in a benefiting way, improving cognitive capacity and lowering stress.
Visually, the setting is formed of a mix of mesmerizing underwater sceneries and footage from real-life environments of the people we interview and their stories. These two planes converge in surprising ways, making the space of the installation shapeshift, playing with perspective while also encouraging different interactions with these overlapping chronologies.
In some places you can actually enter, in others you only peep into, some objects have a function, some just come to life for pleasing your senses and soothing your mind as they answer questions and offer a home for the concrete and the possible.
In the waters of this universe lives a dancer. Her movements guide the attention of the visitors, together with directional sound components, leading them from one place to another in the installation so that they discover the soft keys.
