Shadow Up™ project introduces the nobel 3D animation medium centered around shadows, made possible by our original StereoLight™ system. In this system, two lights flash alternately in synchronization with the opening and closing of lenses in the 3D glasses worn by viewers. Because each eye perceives a shadow cast from a different light source, the brain’s spatial recognition function merges them into a single three-dimensional image. This stereoscopic effect is not limited to shadows—it also applies to patterns formed by transmitted, refracted, and reflected light. The key aspect of this system is its purely analog nature, free from CG or digital processing. Instead of digitizing the phenomenon, this system generates real-time, zero-latency 3D animations with infinite resolution and frame rate. Compared to other 3D glasses technologies such as anaglyph or polarized methods, our system offers far greater flexibility in optical properties, making it adaptable to a wide range of applications.
One of the motivations behind this project is a concern that firsthand, on-site visual experiences are increasingly being reduced to secondhand experiences through digital reproduction. The widespread use of social media has made most visual experiences pre-shared through photos and videos, transforming on-site encounters into mere confirmations of already-seen images. This shift diminishes the potential for surprise, discovery, and new perceptions in physical space. This project challenges that trend by emphasizing the value of art that can only be experienced in person. However, this is not achieved through restrictive measures like a "no photography" policy. Instead, the nature of the technology and expression itself makes it inherently impossible to fully capture or replicate through recorded media. This elevates the significance of on-site viewing in a fundamental way.
Another core motivation behind this project is a pure intellectual curiosity about 3D animation. Since the invention of the stereoscope, 3D visual experiences have advanced alongside technological innovation, yet they have never become a dominant medium in daily life. The reason for this is that while 3D satisfies intellectual curiosity, it lacks practical advantages as an efficient communication tool. In 1838, when Charles Wheatstone invented the stereoscope, his curiosity stemmed from the fundamental question: "Why do humans have two eyes?" His goal was to unravel the mechanisms of vision and, by expanding human perception, offer new ways of seeing the world. This project is in harmony with that same curiosity. Rather than serving as a tool for information transmission, this medium is designed to stimulate curiosity itself. That is why the objects in this work do not carry a specific message, nor is there a predefined narrative. Materials such as concrete blocks, nets, water, and mirror balls exist simply as physical substances. They are not the focus themselves but serve as both the means and the goal—their interaction with light creates stereoscopic patterns. This exploration of minimalist animation is at the core of this work. Even if 3D technology never becomes a dominant medium, it continues to endure as a pursuit of pure intellectual curiosity—a legacy that this project embraces and builds upon.
This project functions not only as an animation device that expands shadow play but also as a system that expands human perception itself. The zero-latency, stereoscopic visual experience, created through an entirely analog mechanism, offers a fundamentally different quality from computational interactive works. It provides a unique sensory experience, as if stepping into a space where the laws of physics have been altered. Shadow Up™ is a immersive visual experience of light and shadow created based on these concepts.
[ Voice over by 動画制作会社VIDWEB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlU-cc00a4)
Voice over by 動画制作会社VIDWEB
The Stereo Light™ system consists of the following three type of devices: