Eurydice: a descent into infinity

MEET Digital Culture Center presents “Eurydice, a descent into infinity,” an immersive, interactive, multi-sensory artwork inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Participants will be immersed in this exclusive virtual installation starting in MEET’s Immersive Room, then wearing a visor they will move to a protected area of the room reserved for them, but their senses will take them elsewhere to wander in Hades like Orpheus in search of the lost Eurydice guided only by a languid and irresistible song.

“Eurydice, a descent into infinity” is a solitary journey into an intermediate space, between matter and eternity, where time vanishes and the laws of space become obsolete. The audience will find itself traveling through a labyrinth of corridors, ruins and balustrades, beyond which vertiginous depths and vistas open up, accompanied by a hypnotic chant that drags deeper and deeper, to the point where the boundary between the material world and an eternal reality becomes blurred.

The work was created by Studio Nergens (Studio Nowhere), led by Dutch director Celine Daemen. Her work lies at the intersection of theater, music, visual arts and technology. After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts in Maastricht, she made several productions in which immersion in music and a virtual environment were the common thread.
The sensory experiences Celine wants to create invite audiences to look inside themselves, taking them to a place where personal associations arise in response to universal philosophical questions. “Eurydice, a descent into infinity” is not just an artwork in Virtual Reality, but an inner journey that will force the audience to face their own questions about being.

Curated by MEET Digital Culture Center.

MEET Center, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2, Milan

Sept. 1 to 10 (closing Sept. 4 and 5), Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. (last admission 6 p.m.)
The experience lasts 20′ and is accessible for two people at a time (in two separate areas) so you should register at a specific time slot here. Payment for the ticket (10 € full and 7 € reduced) will be made in attendance at the entrance.

Sept. 12: talk and panel discussion with Celine Daemen

An opportunity to meet Celine Daemen, transdisciplinary artist and director of the opera Eurydice, in Descent Into Infinity. After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts in Maastricht, she has created several productions in which immersion in a virtual environment and the element of sound are the common thread.

Following the artist’s presentation, MEET Digital Culture Center and the ERC Advanced Grant project AN-ICON. An-Iconology: History, Theory, and Practices of Environmental Images propose a panel discussion to explore the insights provided by the VR work through different thematic perspectives. Andrea Pinotti highlights the immersive features of Eurydice, placing them in the groove of visual culture and the aesthetics of the virtual. The way the opera deals with the issues of “afterlife” and posthumous presence will be the subject of reflections shared by Pietro Conte, in close connection with mythological, anthropological considerations and references to Greek literature offered by Silvia Romani.

The musical aspect of the VR work will be explored in depth by Markus Ophälders while, in closing, Barbara Grespi will offer a mid-archaeological perspective, highlighting the director’s choices related to gesture and their influence on the performative aspect of the experience.

Free admission with Registration required

Event schedule

Introductory greetings:
Maria Grazia Mattei (MEET Digital Culture Center)

Presentation:
Celine Daemen (Studio Nergens)

Roundtable:
Andrea Pinotti (University of Milan, ERC AN-ICON project)
Pietro Conte (University of Milan, ERC AN-ICON project)
Silvia Romani (University of Milan)
Markus Ophälders (University of Verona)
Barbara Grespi (University of Milan, ERC project AN-ICON)