Garden of Sensory Delights

‘Pairi-daēza’ means ‘walled garden’ in Persian, and is the origin of the Hebrew word for orchard, ‘pardes’, and also the origin of the English word for Paradise. Pairi-daēza is also related to ‘parigauda’, meaning a screen, which is the root of the Hebrew, ‘pargod’ - a key concept in Jewish mysticism that describes our veiled relationship to immanence. Pargod is  also related to ‘parochet’- the curtain veil in the Jerusalem temple’s holy of holies that only the high priest could enter once a year on Yom Kippur to offer atonement sacrifices of blood and incense.

This installation brings a mystical paradise to life through immersion of the audience. Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s uncanny Garden of Earthly Delights, a triptych of Eden screens and veils encloses a garden, into which the audience enters. As they do so, they trigger projections that bathe the audience in holographic flowers, plants and fruit trees. Continuing to explore, they are immersed in lush sounds, such as irrigating water and pollinating insects. Wafts of fresh, aromatic fragrances create a mystical veil while hallucinatory voices lure them to cross the threshold- but are they first ready to confront what lurks in their shadow?

This installation explores the potential of holography as an augmented reality that allows people to be immersed in physical and virtual worlds simultaneously while feeling equally present in both. Holography is a powerful medium to represent yearnings beyond material presence to experience something more immaterial.