I stepped out of the purely digital realm and created a physical light installation. The concept is deeply rooted in the idea of the Sephirot and the Tree of Life. I designed the structure so that the longest, central LED rod symbolizes the 'Self'—the core of our identity constantly trying to maintain balance and order. The surrounding suspended rods represent the chaotic, ever-changing emotions, experiences, and energies that constantly interact with us.
The physical build consists of multiple addressable LED tubes suspended at varying heights. To bring this physical structure to life, my TouchDesigner network functions as the brain, acting as a pixel-mapping engine that translates digital textures onto the real-world geometry.
The workflow begins with a comprehensive audio analysis setup that extracts the rhythm and dynamic frequencies from the environment or a track. Instead of 3D geometry, this network relies heavily on a 2D TOP (Texture Operator) system. I generated various visual patterns using rectangles, noise, and color ramps. These patterns are continuously animated and warped by the incoming audio data.
A key feature of this network is the custom logic and switching system I built, which you can see in the 'ART_SWITCH' section. This allows the sculpture to fluidly transition between different visual states and color palettes—shifting from tranquil cyan and orange flows to intense, aggressive red bursts. Finally, this 2D pixel data is mapped and routed out to the physical LED strips, turning the installation into a living entity where the central pillar stands strong, anchoring the surrounding storm of light.
