Magic Mirror

The Magic Mirror is an interactive installation made as part of the permanent exhibition of the visitor center Ivana’s House of Fairy Tales in Ogulin.  The small town of Ogulin, is not on main tourist routes, so the national tourist board had decided to invest in promotion through it’s heritage. The idea was to create something that will for a moment draw the visitors into the world of fairy tales and leave them with a feeling they carry something magical within themselves, regardless of their age. How it works The interaction has been hidden in a cave which is located in the Magic Forest. When the mirror is not being used, the space of the cave is darkened and the only light that can be seen are the green LEDs whose subtle lighting along the floor indicate that the small space may be entered, inviting the visitors to explore. The background sound to the cave is the snoring of Rampogusto (the king of all forest goblins), the cave’s host who rests until roused. Entering the space triggers a motion sensor which detects visitors and initiates the script. A spotlight lights up in front of a large screen that symbolises a mirror showing the visitor’s “reflection” in that moment. The cave’s host addresses the visitors, leading them into a series of interactions and forging an emotional connection that convinces them that Rampogusto is almost real. The visitor is photographed in a random funny pose and then ”scanned” for the purpose of getting a read on all that is magical within them so that they may be depicted in their form as a little monster. The characters are generated by detecting the colour of clothing that the visitor is wearing so as to establish a link with the real world. A visitor in a red shirt will get assigned a magical character with its body coloured red. After generating a character, the host Rampogusto reveals to the visitor what is their hidden magical power. Once the visitor discovers what their inner monster is, they enter their name on the screen. Rampogusto then expels them out of the cave and returns to his dreams. The light is extinguished and Rampogusto continues to snore until the next visitor. The generated character is stored in the database and for a symbolic fee may be printed on a greeting card as a keepsake at the ticket booth. The Magic Mirror has become a sort of a hit of the exhibition and visitors patiently wait their turn to discover what inner magic they are hiding.  Since the opening Rampogusto has so far revealed someone’s magical powers and magical inner image more than 12.000 times.