For the festive season, the exquisite North star landed in India Court - Bompas & Parr brought the Northern Lights to Battuta Mall, Dubai. Audiences were invited to journey to the polar regions and experience arguably one of the most miraculous weather experiences for themselves and learn about plasma and electromagnetic waves.
Bompas & Parr’s artificial aurora borealis chamber took the form of a fractured North Star and used interior projection mapping and mirrored cladding to create an infinite light experience.
Before entering the North star, visitors had the chance to travel to different locations around the world to explore the northern light phenomena on different planets. Surrounding the fallen north star were three telescopes, each with a lightbox showing an image of the northern lights from different planets. Additionally, a mini museum captured the magic of myths surrounding the northern light phenomena.
Venture through the Polar Portal to the Aurora Borealis Chamber…
Visitors left the mall behind and journeyed to the Northern Hemisphere through an epic portal doorway. In the centre of the experience, visitors were able to experience a plasma ball showing real aurora light beams. Enveloped in scents of the forest and icy soundscapes generated by a theremin, the audience experienced the northern light projections change intensity and colour based on the musical frequencies.
Dr Gabby Provan, a planetary researcher in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester, notes, “When people go and see the Northern Lights, they're different colours depending on what gas is in the air. The most common colour that you see is green due to high levels of excited oxygen atoms inside the ionosphere being hit all at once by solar wind.”