Oscar van Leest (NL)

Discover how a space shapes itself to music in a virtual reality.

Walking around an airport, it does have something. In 1978 British musician Brian Eno released an album called Music for Airports. The ambient album features four compositions designed to be played in a

loop

with the intention of breaking the tense, anxious atmosphere of an airport. The music was supposed to ensure that people calm down at the airport and find a moment to think.

For his graduation project, Oscar Van Leest (1994) made a VR video in which he reacts to Eno’s music. Oscar took the piece of music as a starting point to change the location according to the music. The images respond to the music and provide an immersive, spatial layer over the music. You see a busy junction turn into an environment of endless spaces where Eno’s music plays in the background.

Oscar van Leest recently graduated as a student of interactive design at ArtEZ in Arnhem. His work is largely based on his fascination with popular culture and underground technology.