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VR Exhibit ‘The Infinite’ Is The Closest You’ll Get To Space

The seven-part free-roam VR experience spans over 12,000 square feet and features 360-degree footage shot aboard the ISS.

Enter the vastness of outer space in this incredible free-roam VR experience featuring real footage of the International Space Station.

Produced by Felix & Paul Studios and PHI Studio in partnership with TIME, The Infinite is a fully immersive VR experience that uses 360-degree stereoscopic footage from the studio’s Emmy-nominated VR film, Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, to transport you aboard the legendary International Space Station.

The exhibit, which is being presented at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal, is housed in a massive 12,500 square foot facility. The hour-long experience starts with you putting on a VR headset. You’ll then embark on a multisensory free-roam experience during which you’ll stumble across hidden poetry and immerse yourself in the soundscapes and dynamic light design of the futuristic infinity room.

The project features 200 hours of never-before-seen 360-degree footage taken aboard the ISS. You’ll have the freedom to explore and personalize your experience inside and outside of the legendary space station. 

Image Credit: Felix & Paul Studios

“It’s the intimacy we have an opportunity to witness that I find comforting,” said Phoebe Greenberg, The Infinite chief creative officer and the founder of PHI, while speaking to TIME. “There’s such a vastness to the amount of people that are required to get these elite people to space, and from what The Infinite demonstrates, they are still human and bring the Quotidien to space. It makes them all the more relatable, and we don’t get that lens from other media. It’s the intimacy, and we feel the presence of those astronauts.”

There are seven zones that make up The Infinite, each of which is designed to build off the other. The goal is to open your mind to the possibilities of space exploration and space tourism.

Image Credit: Felix & Paul Studios
  • Zone 1: Stars Are Coming Out: You assemble in a room with other travelers. A light and sound installation – as if something’s happening outside the walls – begins. Unseen lights reveal a passage. A second door opens and you and your crew are invited to follow the light.
  • Zone 2: Onboarding: This is when you put on your VR headset and your ascension to the International Space Station awaits you.
  • Zone 3: The ISS Exploration: Your space exploration begins. This is where you are invited to freely explore the ISS and its contents.
  • Zone 4: The Overview Effect: This is where you will get to see the Earth in a totally different way. This is what real astronauts see when they look down on Earth from the ISS. 
  • Zone 5: Ryoji Ikeda: This is where things start to get intense. You enter a black square room where you will experience The Universe within the Universe. The pitch-black immensity, the feeling of weightlessness and even the sensation of vertigo will be at the heart of this section.
  • Zone 6: The Wormhole: You enter an “infinity room” corridor that includes video and sound, representing a return to Earth through a wormhole.
  • Zone 7: The Origins: Visitors are welcomed in a dark and lightly fragranced room, shaped like a truncated pyramid, where all of their senses are awakened.
Image Credit: Felix & Paul Studios

To ensure that The Infinite experience focused primarily on humanity instead of the thrill of being in space, the creative team at Felix & Paul Studios consulted with a number of astronauts and cosmonauts. According to Felix & Paul Studios co-founder and Creative Director Félix Lajeunesse, the experience needed to be built around human moments. “When we started this project, we wanted to capture the human experience, to see it through a genuine and intimate connection with the astronauts,” said Lajeunesse. 

The Infinite VR experience runs until November 7th, 2021 at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal with tickets on sale until September 5th. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, additional fall tickets will be offered based on changing guidelines.

Tickets will range in price depending on which days you go and the age range of your group. There is also discounted pricing for groups larger than 10.

For more information check out the exhibition’s website here.

Feature Image Credit: Felix & Paul Studios

About the Scout

Bobby Carlton

Hello, my name is Bobby Carlton. When I'm not exploring the world of immersive technology, I'm writing rock songs about lost love. I'd also like to mention that I can do 25 push-ups in a row.

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