Interactive installation · prototype · 2026
Noctilucas夜光找
In the dark, the visitor's finger searches for the coastline of the Matsu islands, and the light behaves like bioluminescent plankton.
01 — The work
Noctilucas · 夜光找 is a dark-room installation conceived for the islands of Matsu, Taiwan. A camera follows the visitor's index finger as it searches for the real coastline of the islands.
Where the finger passes, the light ignites like Noctiluca, the bioluminescent plankton that turns Matsu's coasts blue at night (the “blue tears”). Each island completed lights up the next, until the whole archipelago appears. The sound grows in layers as the coast is found, and a flick of the finger releases a small floating light.
The title is a play on words: 夜光藻 (yèguāngzǎo, the noctiluca) becomes 夜光找 (yèguāngzhǎo, “searching for the night light”). The interface is in Traditional Chinese, with Spanish below.
Play it now in your browser ↗Technical sheet
| Medium | Interactive installation for a dark room; light and sound |
| Year | 2026 (prototype) |
| Interaction | The index finger, read by the camera, traces the coastline; a flick releases a floating light |
| Materials | Computer, webcam, projection, audio. Works offline |
| Tools and software | Hand tracking with MediaPipe; generative light and sound in the browser |
| Context | Developed for the open call of the 4th Matsu Biennial (2027) |
02 — The story
Illuminate the edges
For decades of military administration, the islands of Matsu lived under rules that restricted light at night. Today, the same coasts glow on their own every spring.
Noctilucas uses the same gesture as Vínculos, but turns it toward the sea: instead of connecting stars, the hand searches for the edge of the land and lights it up.
03 — The artist
Damián Lafferranderie Peña (Maldonado, Uruguay, 1983) is a Uruguayan artist and creator based in Barcelona. He works at the crossroads of body, technology and cultural heritage. His interactive works run in the web browser and use the camera as their only sensor: the visitor's hands become the instrument.
He practised law in Uruguay for fifteen years. In 2023 the wave of artificial intelligence carried him to Barcelona, where he devotes himself fully to this revolution, and technology allowed him to make this kind of art.
He is the founder of Estudioprompt, an artificial intelligence studio whose purpose is to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits of this revolution. The works aim to be collaborative, open source and dynamic. In this space we are always looking for intelligent futures.
Contact
damianlafferranderie@gmail.com · estudioprompt.com · LinkedIn
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