Niko Tiainen: Translucens

Translucens is holographic projection onto a water curtain. The projected video was made by using coded procedural visuals, which were later recorded and edited to a 7-minute-56-second-long video. The work is installed by a still or moving body of water, such as a pool, pond, lake, river, or the sea.  

Tiainen usually begins his working process from a single word, sentence, or conceptual idea and forms something tangible using free form association and sketching. The Latin-originated word translucent refers to a transparent material – something see-through but also substantial.  Translucens converses with theoretical mathematical structures, like the tesseract, with very light and concrete biological forms, such as water. The narrative of the artwork uses non-linear storytelling by combining together different visuals creating a Kuleshov effect where the audience constructs the actual storyline in their mind. This technique creates a storyline resembling the structure of a REM-dream. 

Many of Tiainen’s ideas for new media installations are derived from his back background in classical music, especially improvised piano and composing. Translucens has the structure of an impromptu, which is a composition based on improvised musical materials or sketches that has later been composed to a musical opus. In sound design Tiainen used several different granular synth and drone sounds. With these he created a contrasting soundscape, which builds up a mild unreleased tension. A low dominant tone strengthens the effect throughout the whole piece. 

Translucens leaves questions unanswered.