This video, courtesy of Jessica Palmer, was created from live footage taken at My Virtual Dream installation at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto 2013. My Virtual Dream is powered by The Virtual Brain, a cutting-edge piece of software developed by Baycrest. As a computerized replica of the human brain, The Virtual Brain is designed to interpret incoming brain activity.

Baycrest Institute, 2013

My Virtual Dream at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2013 took place inside a spectacular 60-ft dome, awash with projected animations, powered directly by the participants’ brainwaves connected to The Virtual Brain.

Starting at 6:52 p.m. on October 5, groups of 20 participants at a time entered the “Dreamery” – an intimate stage in the centre of the dome. The first half of each session is called “The Wake Cycle,” during which participants learned to control and synchronize their brain waves by playing a cerebral video game. Using only their own powers of concentration and relaxation, participants directly controlled the images and sounds projected on the dome, competing with other players to create spectacular fireworks.

Read the interview about my role in designing the game portion.

Visit the My Virtual Dream website