25 January 2025
Akiko Nakayama’s “Alive Paintings” create a visual symphony at Floating Points’ shows
Hamill Industries, the Barcelona-based creative duo comprising Pablo Barquin and Anna Diaz, has long been recognised for their commitment to pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling. In a recently shared video, Anna Diaz delves into the process behind their work on real-time visual effects for Floating Points, offering a glimpse into the meticulous research and innovation that defines their practice.
Hamill Industries creates a journey where images respond to music and light. They use light reflections on bubble surfaces, with the patterns determined by a mixture of liquids with different densities. During the process, the contributing artist Akiko Nakayama creates her “Alive Paintings”—a live painting of dynamic changing scenery inspired by the interplay of painting and sound. Using a pipette, Nakayama splashes droplets of fairy liquid into a dish, swirling the mesmerising shapes around in real time to complement the performance. The reflections form vibrating patterns and colours in front of the camera. These visuals are filmed to show how they react to sound, with the bubble surfaces moving, shaking, and exploding as the rhythms of Floating Points intensify.
Anna Diaz and Pablo Barquin prioritise experiential storytelling in their artistic practice, allowing the format of their work to develop organically. This transmedia approach is supported by extensive research conducted in their workshop, where they design advanced tools to realise their creative vision. Their work delves into the concept of expanded visuals, challenging and blurring the boundaries between the digital and tangible realms. Drawing inspiration from the physical world, they reimagine not only the virtual sphere but also reality itself. Positioned between the roles of inventors and illusionists, their projects consistently focus on creating sensory-rich experiences, regardless of the medium.
