In our DesignTalks Spotlights, we’re going into the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of what you should know about each of our DesignTalks speakers and why we are so excited about their work.
We covered Christien Meindertsma in our first post, and Alexander Taylor in our second post. Now we’re moving into the work of Ersin Han Ersin of Marshmallow Laser Feast:
Who?
Ersin Han Ersin is a Turkish visual artist and director, and ⅓ of the creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF). The London-based studio playfully experiments with technology and human perception. Ersin creates sensory installations that interactively redefine our expectations of technology—its power to offer emotional experiences and its ability to instill a sense of wonder. According to Ersin Han Ersin’s artist statement, he is “focused on interaction between virtual spaces, light and body, including the tension between real and synthesized experiences.”
What have they done? What are they doing now?
Ersin collaborates with Barney Steel and Robin McNicholas to create Marshmallow Laser Feast projects. MLF’s latest project In the Eyes of the Animal is a 360° virtual reality experience where viewers explore England’s Grizedale Forest through the eyes of three native animal species—an owl, dragonfly, or a frog. An artistic interpretation in hyper-detail, the project beautifully crafts cinematics, animation, and sound to engage the experiencer in shapeshifting journeys.
In the Eyes of the Animal recently won the WIRED Audi Innovation Awards in the category of Innovation in Experience Design, and also a nomination for the London Design Museum’s Beazley Design of the Year Award.
See the teaser on Vimeo: In the Eyes of the Animal
In addition to MLF, other projects of note by Ersin include design and direction work for New Movement Collective’s Nest and Imogen Heap’s Me The Machine.
When did he start working?
Ersin graduated from Goldsmith College in 2015 from its MA in Computational Arts program and also joined Marshmallow Laser Feast that same year.
Why is his work important?
Ersin works with the sonic, visual, and haptic to create experiences that would be impossible for us to encounter without technology. These projects accessibly showcase emerging technology and our growing capabilities for manipulating it to create augmented sensory experiences that are both emotional and intellectual.
Even more than its technical achievements, Ersin’s works offer an alternative channel for the increasing anxiety we may have with our technology: an optimism about its capacity for beauty and possibility.
Text by Michelle Site. Photos from Studio Marshmallow Laser Feast