Skellefteå Test Bed Makes Innovative Artwork Possible at Nobel Week Lights

Smash Studio creates unique experiences by bringing together the physical world with art and design. They have previously worked with brands such as Spotify, Givenchy and H&M, but the conditions needed to create the artwork for Nobel Week Lights were found in the north.

The artwork is based on Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska and her poem Love at First Sight. With the help of two dancers, Smash Studio interpreted the poem by combining movement, animation and cutting-edge technology. The test bed in Skellefteå made it possible to record the dancers’ movements, which were then transformed into animations. During Nobel Week Lights, the result was projected onto the façade of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, which had first been digitised through 3D scanning. In this way, the building’s architecture became a canvas for the artwork, with the dancers’ animations moving across the façade.

The project demonstrates how the test bed in Skellefteå can act as a creative engine for companies looking to experiment with advanced technology in combination with art and culture. For Skellefteå Science City, which runs the test bed, it also marks a breakthrough in positioning Skellefteå as a place for new kinds of innovation and collaboration.

– It’s incredibly exciting that organisations outside our region want access to our test bed. Through our work with Smash Studio, we have been able to demonstrate the power of this advanced technology and, in turn, the importance of the test bed, says Pernilla Lindmark, project manager for Intersective Game at Skellefteå Science City.

Through the Intersective Game project, the test bed has enabled a new kind of crossover between technology and interactive art for the region. The collaboration with Smash Studio is a clear example of how technical infrastructure can become a catalyst for artistic expression and new, innovative applications.

Nobel Week Lights, which takes place during Nobel Week in December, is a celebration of science, innovation and culture.

Read more about the innovative artwork on the Nobel Week Lights website.

Want to see how the artwork turned out? Watch it here: