Focus

Immersive device for concentration and light vibration

Focus is a series of kinetic light sculptures.

They engage the viewer in a device for perceptual concentration where light, movement and attention come together in synergy. Each sculpture, centred on a focal point, structures the gaze and stabilises attention.

Water is the matrix element of the device. Conducting vibration and movement, traversed by light, it generates dynamic forms that resonate with other natural elements, condensing into luminous abstractions.

Progressive waves alter our relationship with our bodies, time and space. Image, light and sound come together in a multisensory coherence derived from my research on perception, hypnosis and meditation. The device acts as a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious.

The protocol unfolds in two phases, each lasting approximately ten minutes.

Video phase

The gaze is fixed on a central point. The shapes evolve in a movement of concentration and gradual expansion, supporting attentional stability and the transformation of the perceptual field.

Light phase

The eyes can be open or closed. The pulsed light acts directly on visual and bodily perception. The experience shifts from the gaze to the overall sensation.

Synchronised light and sound vibrations

The movements of concentration and expansion create a breathing dynamic. The synchronisation of light, rhythm and sound helps to stabilise attention and gradually intensify presence. The desired effect is a densification of perception that can shift one's relationship to time, space and the body.

A relational process

‘Focus’ is not simply a matter of contemplation. The protocol articulates attention, intention and state of consciousness in an energetic progression. Consciousness stabilises, vibration intensifies. Those who pass through the installation become co-authors of the experience: through their presence, they activate its perceptual potential.

Precautions

Immersive devices may include visual and auditory stimuli that are not recommended for certain individuals (epilepsy, heart conditions, severe psychological disorders).

Chromatic orientations beyond the gaze.

A second level of focus may emerge within the body.

Three areas are given priority – the head, chest and abdomen – though this does not preclude shifts in attention.

In some cases, placing a hand, particularly over the heart, can support and amplify this focus, allowing the subtle variations specific to each colour to emerge.

Each colour acts as a principle of inner orientation.

Focus Purple initiates a vibratory process of contraction and expansion converging towards a central focal point. Variations of purple, mauve and amethyst create a pulsating depth where attention stabilises. The orientation is situated in the thoracic region, as a centre of internal resonance, where luminous oscillations intensify the vibratory quality.

Focus Blue expands the field of perception. Variations of blue, from diffuse to cobalt intensities, broaden attention and lead to a sharper concentration of the light flow. The focus is located at the head, as a centre of clarification, where perception gains in precision and clarity.

Focus Yellow combines concentration with the diffusion of light. The variations from ochre to gold create a dense, radiant field, where light gathers and then spreads out in a gradual radiance. The focus is on the chest area, as the centre of concentration and inner radiance.

Focus Green forms part of a continuum of perceptual flow. The regular, modulated green oscillations establish a steady rhythm that sustains a sense of balance. The focus is on the abdominal area, as a point of anchorage and stability.

These guidelines describe possible configurations, activated in a unique way depending on the attention paid to the protocol and each individual’s sensitivity.

Perceptual dynamics and sensory synchronisation

These techniques are based on movements of concentration and expansion, structuring a visual and auditory pulsation akin to a breathing rhythm. Light, movement and sound inspired by the breath synchronise to create a sense of organic unity, where the space seems animated by a living, coherent flow.

Perception does not occur immediately; it develops gradually. The intensity of the light and its modulation create a gradual build-up, sustaining the viewer’s concentration and growing engagement.

The synchronisation of visual, light and sound frequencies contributes to this construction. Electronic waves, low frequencies, and reworked voices and breaths harmonise with light and movement according to shared rhythms. Sound does not merely illustrate the image; it extends its structure, reinforcing the coherence of the immersive field.

The sound work does not constitute musical composition in the traditional sense. It is developed as a material. Starting with recordings of voices and breath, the textures are stretched, compressed and densified until they form rhythmic and vibrating layers. This work with sound material, this sound design, is organised as a flow, a wave, a physical presence that acts as much through its low frequencies and pulsations as through its textures.

This approach has developed outside of instrumental practice. It is rooted in prolonged listening, nourished by a musical environment permeated by diverse forms—folk, baroque, minimalist—whilst remaining detached from them. The work does not seek harmonic composition, but rather a tension between rhythm, breath and vibration, in direct connection with the perceptual experience.

The synergy of these elements can alter the experience of time and space. Time expands or stands still, whilst perceptible space widens. This reconfiguration imposes no set path, but opens up a more intense field of presence, conducive to a deeper engagement with the artwork and one’s own consciousness.

The principle of the perceptual mirror

The composition of the works is based on a principle of double symmetry. A first symmetry organises the forms and movements around a central axis, structuring the image as a stable visual equilibrium. A second, more subtle symmetry appears in the very construction of the sequence: part of the work is repeated in inversion in its second half, like a movement of reflection.

This inversion introduces a shift in the reading of the image: what has been perceived is replayed differently, triggering an internal reconfiguration. Perception anticipates, recognises, and recomposes. In this passage, the experience shifts towards a more implicit register, where the subconscious is engaged. This dynamic opens up a space in which a personal intention can take shape and be replayed, in ways that will be explored in the chapter devoted to the three pillars of experience.

This interplay of symmetry acts as a perceptual framework. The human visual system spontaneously organises forms around balanced axes. Research in Gestalt psychology, pioneered by Max Wertheimer, has shown that perception proceeds through the organisation of overall structures. The brain favours coherent forms, in which symmetry stabilises the gaze and promotes the emergence of a unified image.

This type of organisation also engages fundamental mechanisms of perception. The brain is particularly sensitive to symmetrical structures and reflective phenomena. Neuroscience research has shown that observing movements can activate neural networks involved in their internal simulation, notably the mirror neurons described by Giacomo Rizzolatti. This perceptual resonance engages consciousness in the experience of rhythm and movement.

The repetition of patterns and the progression towards a centre of intensity call upon the capacity for adaptation. Unlike a linear build-up leading to a final point, this intensification is structured here around a centre, like a symmetrical expansion, evoking a crescendo shifted towards the middle of the work, in the manner of Ravel’s Boléro, but whose climax is re-centred to avoid any rupture and allow for a gradual return.

The brain is constantly adjusting the way it processes sensory information. This ability to adapt is described as a form of brain plasticity, a concept popularised by the work of Norman Doidge.

Perceptual activity does not merely passively record stimuli: it gradually transforms in response to certain repeated or unusual visual experiences. In this context, the mirrored structure is not merely a formal choice. It directs the gaze towards a centre whilst maintaining peripheral activity, opening up a space where perception can stabilise and reconfigure itself.

Focus and the perceptual centre

The mirror arrangement reinforces the sensation of a centre towards which attention converges. This phenomenon ties in with research on visual attention conducted notably by Michael Posner, which describes attention as a spotlight capable of focusing on a specific area of the visual field. When a focal point emerges, attention tends to stabilise there whilst maintaining peripheral perception.

This duplication gradually directs the gaze towards a centre of increasing intensity. This dynamic corresponds to central focusing accompanied by an opening of the visual field.

The experience combines stability and expansion, focusing and diffusion. This dynamic aligns with the natural functioning of visual perception, alternating between precise central vision and diffuse peripheral perception. Attention shifts between these two modes, creating an experience that is both stable and open.

In this context, the mirrored structure is not merely a formal choice. It directs the gaze towards a centre whilst maintaining peripheral activity, opening up a space where perception can stabilise, reconfigure and expand.