Mimirs Well

Toronto, ON

Nuit Blanche (https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/nuit-blanche-toronto/)

JMAC Productions (http://jmac-productions.com/)

Sapient Nitro (https://www.publicissapient.com/)

Rune Entertainment (https://rune.co/)

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"Every culture has stories reaching back into time, passed down over generations. These are the memories of a land and people – the collective knowledge and wisdom of a place. Mímir's Well from Norse Mythology is where Odin sacrificed an eye, so he could drink from its waters. To honour Odin, we reimagined Mímir's Well as an immersive and transformative interactive sculpture – where the audience was invited to tap into a deep history of wisdom and memory – in a purely personal way. Visitors were to step up to the well and take an introspective moment while gazing at their reflection. Some shapeshifting will occur."

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The overall creative direction for this installation was by SapientNitro, a Toronto based advertising and marketing agency, while the actual 3D design and fabrication was left up to us at JMAC Productions. We began with a CAD model of the animals, and used the dimensions and angles to cut out flattened versions of each shape onto PVC sheet material. Once all of the necessary pieces were cut, we used a heat gun, glue, tape, etc, to align each piece with its counterpart, and slowly they began to take shape. We used various types of spray foams in most of the cavities in order to provide strength, and have each sculpture be able to support its on weight. Each joint, hole, scratch, imperfection etc, had to be filled sanded and primed numerous times to guarantee a perfectly smooth finish. The final coat was a pearlescent sheen, which added very nice colouring based on angle of light, and viewers orientation. 

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The well consisted of over 100 gallons of water, which was dyed black and appeared to be an endless abyss, which divided viewers from their animal counterparts on screen. The 9 worlds which were depicted on each of the 9 screens in the center of the well. Rune entrainment did an amazing job linking Xbox connect to their imagery, allowing the viewer to become the animal, having it move as you moved, and explore each of the 9 worlds. 

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