random international - rain room

Rain Room, an installation by the digital art collective Random International, is one of those wonderful works that combines art and technology in such a way that the end result is as fascinating, and even magical seeming, as it is beautiful. Because Rain Room is a a hundred square metre field of falling water through which it is possible to walk, trusting that a path can be navigated, without being drenched in the process.

That's right, it's real water falling from the ceiling, but thanks to 3-D camera technology, the rain falls everywhere except where visitors are standing.  


Rain Room at the Barbican, 2012 from rAndom International on Vimeo.

As you progress through The Curve, the sound of water and a suggestion of moisture fill the air, before you are confronted by this carefully choreographed downpour that responds to your movements and presence. 

Like I said, magical. Rain Room is on view in the Curve gallery at the Barbican in London from now through March 3, 2013.

(Via Fast Company)