The first thing that hits you is the shape of the room. Gently curved walls morph into round tunnels, branching off as far as you can see in the kaleidoscope darkness.
Architects of Air (AOA) is the creator of the structure Exxopolis, which sits sprawled and slightly pulsating on the lawn outside the Walter Pyramid. The structure is know as a “Luminarium.”
The two X’s in the name Exxopolis represent 20 years of the AOA company, according to Gabriel Burden, the AOA man on the ground for Exxopolis’ stay at Cal State Long Beach.
Burden said the exhibit was made completely by hand, with a team of workers and community outreach program participants in Nottingham, England, working for five months to piece together thousands of half-millimeter thick PVC plastic panels.
The Luminarium was brought to CSULB by Associated Students Inc., specifically by ASI Arts Commissioner Alana Johnson. The AOA has toured its 20 creations, “large inflatable sculptures of light, color and air,” around the world since 1992, but this is the first time the company has ever brought one to visit Southern California, according to Burden.
“We’ve been working towards this for nine months,” Johnson said. “We’ve been surveying students, and they said they want something interactive to involve and immerse themselves in. This is a stress reliever. It’s to relax and have fun at the same time.”
The color wheel of different hues that greet you as you cross the threshold is dazzling. Blue, green, red, purple and orange – in all shades – illuminate the round tunnels that link together the several main chambers. The color is created by natural sunlight streaming through colored panels of the roof and walls.
The tunnels seem to go on forever, doubling back on themselves as you further lose your bearings and orientation from the color, warmth and ghostly, ethereal tranquility of the music that softly issues from hidden speakers around the structure.
“It’s completely unique,” ASI Communications Coordinator Christina Esparza said. “I don’t use that term loosely; I use it correctly. It is literally, absolutely one of a kind. It’s like walking inside a big kaleidoscope.”
Participants are meant to slowly wander through the complex, pausing wherever they wish, sitting or laying down on the floor or in the multiple sitting pods that dot the walls, according to Burden. Only 80 people are allowed in at a time, to preserve the calm and quiet of the experience.
Exxopolis is located behind the Walter Pyramid, adjacent to Atherton Street. It is open from noon to 6 p.m. until Sunday. CSULB students can enter free of charge while non-students are charged $5.