Submergence: an immersive light experience at our hospitals
Thanks to a grant from Innovate UK, a new arts installation aimed to help local patients at Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals as part of a research project looking at how immersive technologies might be used in clinical settings in the future.
The artwork project, known as ‘submergence’ uses hundreds of strands of individual LEDs to create a unique immersive light experience, with the aim of helping people feel calm and relaxed. It has been experienced by millions of people all over the world from galleries to festivals, but the installations at Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals were the first time they'd been seen in a hospital environment.
Working in partnership with the charity on the project are Squidsoup; a UK-based international group of artists, researchers, technologists and designers working with digital and interactive media experiences. Their work combines physical and dynamic digital spaces with novel and intuitive forms of interaction to produce immersive, responsive and beguiling experiences.
Part of a research project, the artwork featured in the waiting area in Oncology and the Children’s Centre. It aims to provide a calming and immersive experience for patients, whilst also hoping to inform future immersive technologies that might be used in a clinical setting.