HORIZON at OASIS Immersion

Collaborating with Montreal’s OASIS Immersion, Alex Le Guillou used the simplest elements of nature to explore the depths of human perception.

In the summer of 2021, OASIS Immersion, creators of Canada’s largest indoor immersive experience, contacted Visual Artist & Notch Specialist Alex Le Guillou to propose a collaboration for their new exhibition, RECHARGER/Unwind, to be installed at their venue in Montreal. The team wanted to use the planned experience to explore human perceptions of reality, dreams, and memories.

Le Guillou quickly developed a minimal concept following a personally developed artistic approach he calls “Artificial Visions,” an ongoing series of multimedia research and audiovisual experiences based on the technological representation of nature. In the case of HORIZON, Le Guillou sought to illustrate the concepts of order and chaos. He used particles to form abstract landscapes and natural phenomena inspired by the sky and sea.

Le Guillou began by researching photos and videos of sea skylines captured in his local area. Wanting the final product to be a continuously moving piece, he started with a simple line that would transform itself over time. The line took the form of wind, water, and other textures associated with the sea, concluding in a linear landscape representing the titular horizon. Composer Jonathan Fitas provided a musical score that matched the abstract and sensory nature of the project.

As Le Guillou explained, the final piece became an escape for the public. In a year, he’s received touching comments from attendees, many of whom reported connecting their own stories, memories, and overall impressions of life to the experience.