Nwando Ebizie – Distorted Constellations (2019) was commissoned by Lighthouse.

Enter an Afrofuturist, mythical landscape that explores what it’s like to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

Presented in partnership with Brighton Festival, Distorted Constellations is an exhibition that uses sound, projections and holograms to immerse the audience in the imagined landscape of the artist’s brain.

The work is inspired by Ebizie’s rare neurological disorder Visual Snow, which causes visual distortions such as flickering dots, auras and glowing lines. The audience will experience a mythical version of the disorder, entering an alternate Afrofuturist (a black perspective on the politics and culture of science fiction and technology) reality, inspired by research into the neuroscience of perception and drawing on rituals of African origin.

In the exhibition, partitions, screens and threads create a labyrinth through the space, with walls doubling up as screens where holograms and videos are projected. These architectural elements guide the audience through the space, and create the experience of Visual Snow.

Distorted Constellations​ is an interdisciplinary exhibition that combines art and science, and aims to increase our understanding of rare neurological disorders and the subjective nature of sense perception. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of performances and public science experiment.

The Install is a large, dark room lit by projected lights and pictures. Some of the lights flash.
Music will be playing during the performance. There are no sudden loud noises.
Gauze and string are hung in the space. You can carefully touch the gauze and the string.
You are invited to watch the visuals and listen to the sound.
You may stand up, sit down or move around.
You may leave the space and return to it at any time.

Sensory antechamber

During Distorted Constellations one of the ground floor spaces was transformed into a sensory antechamber, designed to complement the main installation. The sensory space has been designed with the needs of neurodivergent people, including autistic people, in mind.

Distorted Constellations is co-presented by Lighthouse and Brighton Festival, with support from Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. Distorted Constellations was originally commissioned by Eclipse and HOME as part of Slate: Black. Arts. World. Funded by Wellcome Trust and Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists with funding support from Arts Council England.

Commission year: 2019