Holographic Sea Slugs Come to Life
Six holograms so lifelike that visitors stop to watch creatures they would otherwise pass by.
Aquarium de Paris · Paris, France · 2023
About the project
A Spotlight for the Overlooked
The Aquarium of Paris leads important research on sea slugs and saw a chance to give these remarkable species the spotlight they deserve. Because they are tiny and often still, a normal tank can be easy to pass by, so the opportunity was to make visitors stop, look, and wonder. Broken Egg was asked to give six of them a striking, memorable presence in the gallery.
Engineering the Illusion
Starting from that visitor experience, Broken Egg designed six modular stations, each combining a sculptural laser-cut installation, a hologram engineered in house when no off-the-shelf option met the need, and distinctive lighting that signals each stop from across the gallery. Achieving a convincing holographic effect took real research and development, from OLED displays to handmade optical glass.
Six Living Illusions
Each station brings a species to life, and the holograms are convincing enough that visitors sometimes take them for the living animal and stay to watch. Delivered as a phased rollout with all six stations built and ready, the system turns an almost invisible collection into a discovery to seek out.