YOU Are A Projection Of Your Influences

Light projected through prisms on to laser-cut letters submerged in water.

Who are you? No, who are you really? You’re an amalgamation of influences from your family, your friends, the media, and the parasocial relationships you have with fictional characters. It’s okay; we all are. It can’t be helped that there’s a lot of it about.

[Kim Pimmel]’s YOU examines this question of identity in the form of  projected typography. YOU are solidly laser-cut at birth, but then come the influences — the water of everyday life that surrounds you, the lights that mask your dread or lay you bare, and the prisms of circumstance that twist the light into brilliant patterns that burn memories into your brain.

In this case, the light comes from a hacked camping headlamp that was past its prime. [Kim] laser-cut the letters from acrylic and submerged them in water, which can be manipulated to enhance the effect and mimic the turmoil of life. For added effect, [Kim] held prisms in the light’s path to refract it and cause the patterns to dance. Be sure to check it out after the break, and don’t forget to turn on the sound so you can hear [Kim]’s original composition.

Want to see more trippy typography? Check out this vector art that started as Perlin noise.

5 thoughts on “YOU Are A Projection Of Your Influences

  1. Really cool practical effect. I would like to see more behind the scenes, the few pictures of the rig are not enough to quench my thirst. I wonder what effects didn’t make the cut, or what some RGB could do.

Leave a Reply to Rumble_in_the_JungleCancel reply

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.