The anticipation has been building since sunrise. The sun finally disappears below the horizon, turning the golden twilight skies to black. The chirping of insects becomes increasingly loud. This is the signal you have been waiting for. The start of the journey through to the lantern. 

An hour has past, the pathway shows no promise. You weave between the tree trunks along a path which has all but disappeared, guided by something almost instinctual. You pause as the familiar smell of freshwater wafts through the maze. 

You notice a glowing light in the distance. Alas, the ethereal light was a sign, a sign that the legend exists!

You ignore the twigs scratching against your arm, adrenaline has made you disregard any sensation of pain. You brashly walk through the forest, clambering over tree roots and ducking under branches, following the light with great conviction. 

You come to a clearance and hesitate. You have reached a river. Your eyes are drawn to a glowing lantern and you become hypnotised as the water has taken on a fluorescent blue. 

Four timber frames grow from depths below the surface. Light filters through a translucent screen gently swaying despite the lack of breeze, almost invitingly. You carefully lift a curtain, and enter to discover an amphitheater, bathed in rippled water and light. A world of its own. 

A place of dreams. A place of reverie. 

You must walk down the stairs with caution, unsure of where each step starts or ends. Ethereal reflections bounce off the glass stairs, against the swirling water glimmering in blue light. You then finally take your first step into the water. The water ripples around your feet, lighting up and reacting to your movement. Walking further down the stairs, you leave an ephemeral pathway of light with every step. 

Sitting down on the larger step, you glance upwards to notice the undulating folds of the roof. The white cloth loops, folding until the edges fall gently to create curtains on the front. They lift gently with the wind, framing the river.  The water rises, spouts, and overflows onto each step. Slightly alarmed, you sit on the step above, however the water is constantly rising, bubbling light from all corners. It almost spills over the edge, but instead begins to dramatically drop, with the light following each step and leaving an echo of what used to be. 

You watch the cycle wax and wane throughout the night, glowing consistently with great energy. You watch the water rise to your knees, at a point even rising to your stomach, but then falling to restart the fluctuating sequence like a dance. The water mimics the flickering flame of a candle, that very flame residing within a lantern.  

However, a faint glimmer of light begins to emerge from the horizon. The sun rises over the lantern, and the blue glow disappears. An indication that a new day has begun. 

This project was done as part of a Model Making elective under the tuition of Dr. Matthew Mindrup. The brief required the invention of a time and place that would evoke emotion and sensory response amongst its users – based upon the text ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino, 1978.