PRESS RELEASE
6 February 2025
Artist Pawel Janicki Creates Infinite Maze Interactive Installation, AAAMaze at Richmond American University London as part of EU Funded Artcast4D Project
AAAMaze
Pawel Janicki
Wednesday 12 February – Saturday 1 March
Richmond American University London,
A new Watermans/Artcast4D commission by Polish artist Pawel Janicki – an interactive installation opening 12 February at Richmond American University London.
Interactive installation, AAAMaze features an infinite, constantly evolving real-time generated labyrinth. Throughout history, labyrinths and mazes have been, central to mythology, psychology, and more recently game design - classic games like Snake (1976) and Pac-Man (1979) highlight their immersive appeal. Mazes challenge us, engage our imaginations, and invite exploration, becoming timeless metaphors for understanding our reality.
AAAMaze is a labyrinth that can be explored by the public, but with a twist - it's an infinite labyrinth generated in real time for the audience. Only a part of the labyrinth is visible at one time, and the invisible parts of the labyrinth change constantly, making it impossible to return to a previous location.
Project curator, Klio Krajewska adds:
“Pawel Janicki’s AAAMaze presents a playful and entertaining interactive labyrinth experience utilising the AAASeed software.”
Commissioned and presented by Watermans Arts Centre as a pilot commission for the EU funded project ArtCast4D with financial support from the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme and curated by Klio Krajewska.
AAAMaze is presented in collaboration with The Centre for International Visual Arts and Culture (IVAC) Research Centre at Richmond American University London.
AAAMAZE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101061163. It was also funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee grant No. 10079472.
For more information please contact:
Antony Pickthall, Marketing Director antony@watermans.org.uk +44 7809 672452
Watermans is supported by Arts Council England and London Borough of Hounslow.
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Email us info@watermans.org.uk
Watermans www.watermans.org.uk
Editors’ Notes
Listings:
AAAMaze
Pawel Janicki
Richmond American University London
Building 12, 566 Chiswick Park, Chiswick High Rd., Chiswick, London W4 5AN
12 February – 1 March
Launch Event Richmond American University London: Wednesday 12 February 2025, 6pm – 8pm
About the artist:
Pawel Janicki draws mainly on the achievements of music, contemporary and media art and post-humanist practice - but he constructs forms different from the existing ones. He engages a wide spectrum of techniques, approaches and protocols: creates works using synthetic senses, programming techniques — also in the modern, cognitive incarnation — and elements of space and material engineering. An important role in Janicki's creativity is drawn from historical and current contexts - in particular the perceived history of art and something that could be called the history of thinking.
About Artcast4D:
Artcast4D is a European consortium of research, technology, culture, and media partners working with artists, cultural organisations, creative businesses, museums, city, and local authorities to develop new, immersive experiences in public spaces. The consortium is coordinated by Politecnico di Milano and brings together 10 partners from 7 European Countries, merging research, technology, creative, media and cultural backgrounds. Pilot partners include: Issy-les-Moulineaux municipality, France; Watermans arts centre in London, UK; cultural consultancy CulturaLink in collaboration with regional associated partner Espai LaGranja - IVC, in Valencia, Spain; and CERTH research centre with technology partner EXUS AI Labs in Athens, Greece. You can find more information about Artcast4D at www.artcast4d.eu
About AAASeed Software:
AAASeed is a versatile 2D / 3D real-time engine developed and used by Mâa (Emmanuel Mâa Berriet) since the last century. The open-source project is designed to build installations of various complexity and sizes. Supported by European funding to go Open Source (ArtCast4D ), AAASeed aims to enhance the way we interact with digital environments. AAASeed software allows artists, developers, and businesses to tap into the world of 3D real-time graphics and immersive experiences. AAASeed focuses now on three core applications: VJing – create captivating visuals that complement live performances; Data Product Visualizations – communicate complex data through clear, engaging visuals; Immersive Digital Installations – experience the fusion of art and technology in interactive environments.
Watermans is run by Hounslow Arts Trust with a mission to bring communities together through cultural practice and to enrich lives through the arts and creativity. It presents a programme of international outdoor performance at Bell Square London from May to December and delivers an extensive programme of participative arts activities in the community, where it is also lead partner for Creative People and Places Hounslow. It is also a partner in the EU funded project Artcast4D, an innovative pan-European project that combines art and immersive technology to enable people to interact with culture. For almost forty years it operated a mid-scale arts centre which is currently closed ahead of its planned move to a new building. Watermans presented a mix of theatre, dance, cinema and visual arts, attracting audiences from across West London and further afield and its new purpose-built venue will offer a larger and more flexible theatre space, two cinema spaces and a larger gallery space located in central Brentford.
