Acqua Alta - Crossing the mirror is a pop-up to read in augmented reality book. Looking through a tablet or a smartphone, the ten double-pages become the stage for a short dance performance - thanks to a custom-made augmented reality application. It is the story of a woman, a man, a house, a catastrophy and a dive into the imaginery realms of water.
Designed, produced and edited by Adrien M & Claire B, Acqua Alta tells the story of a woman, a man, a house. A daily routine, absurd and filled with discrepancies. But one wet rainy day, their life is turned upside down: the rising waters drown their home in an ink-coloured sea. The woman slips and disappears. Only her hair remains, and it is alive. It tells the tale of a disaster, unique and universal. It tells of losing and searching. It tells of the fear of the bizarre and otherness, and how to tame it.
The project Acqua Alta exists in three different formats :
- A visual theatre performance, Acqua Alta - Ink black ;
- An immersive experience in a virtual reality headset, Acqua Alta - Tête-à-tête ;
- A pop-up book in augmented reality, Acqua Alta - Crossing the mirror.
The book is a stand-alone object in which the story unfolds in a unique way. The book can be made available for consultation or presented as an installation (10 different books open on a different page).
Looking through a tablet or a smartphone, the ten double-pages of the book Acqua Alta - Crossing the mirror become the stage for a short dance performance - thanks to a custom-made augmented reality application. In a simple graphic stroke in black and white, ink drawings and white folded paper come together to reveal the virtual life of dancing miniature beings and their dive into the imaginary realms of water. The augmented reality enables the spectator to look at the book from higher above and understand the movement and space, as well as play with perspective. The experience is at the crossroads of theatre, dance, comic book, animated film and “artsy” video game.
