ZEE

Imagine that you're in a room and it's filled with dry ice, you can't see further than about 30cm in front of you (at the best of times). Now there are coloured strobe lights all around you and music. It all feels as if it's happening right in front of your face...and you've got no control over any of it. You can't properly imagine this until you've experienced it for yourself. Well this is exactly what ZEE was like.

ZEE is an "immersive audiovisual" experience at FACT and is part of the Abandon Normal Devices exhibition. It's been created by an Austrian artist called Kurt Hentschlager who's spent a lifetime creating artworks that push the viewer into a state of sensory overload. "The core visual impression of ZEE is of a psychedelic architecture of pure light, an abstract luminescent landscape enveloping the visitor. Time appears to stand still."



Even though I was told what ZEE was beforehand by someone who'd already been to the exhibition, it didn't prepare me for what was about to happen, I had no idea what I'd really let myself in for. It's difficult to explain ZEE to someone who's not been in there and everyone has a different experience when they go in.

You're in a room full of people but you feel as though you're alone in there. You even feel like someone is walking past you when actually there's no-one there. It's a really strange sensation in there and I don't really know what to make of it, I'm not sure if I'd actually want to go in there again.