Illumina translates the hidden technologies of Internet communication into visible, understandable layers. At its center, these layers merge into a single network, revealing the Internet as a deeply physical infrastructure rather than something immaterial.

The experience begins with an interactive object: a camera, microphone, instrument, or another device. The spectator creates a message, which will start a journey to send the signal.

The signal starts when a visitor interacts with the sculpture by giving it input. The signal then travels wirelessly from the device to the sculpture, where the journey of the signal becomes visible through light. From there, the signal travels as light through submarine fiber-optic cables, passing through networks and server infrastructures that send information around the world. When the signal needs to cross continents, it travels through cables that are laid beneath the ocean before continuing its journey on the other side, eventually reaching another device wirelessly. 95% of all international data travels through these submarine fiber-optic cables that lay beneath the ocean.

To visualize these invisible systems, we created a sculpture where light and cables become the protagonists. Light pulses move slowly through a single cable, accelerate through intertwined cables representing servers, and finally flicker rapidly to evoke transoceanic transmission.