Hako in New Zealand

Hako, BARTKRESA studio’s 360-degree projection-mapped sculpture, is a pop-up experience that artists around the world can build and map. As a proud sponsor of the project, Dataton has supplied WATCHOUT production kits to participants around the world to help bring their artworks to life! 

Dr William Franco, an installation artist/filmmaker from Southern California, living and working in Wellington, New Zealand, is the only NZ-based participant in the Hako global arts project. After following the online workshops led by Bart Kresa and contacting Dataton, Dr Franco produced and installed "3000 Realms", a five-minute piece at The Hub, Victoria University Wellington. 

The mapped art experience is based on the Buddhist concept that each moment of life contains 3,000 possibilities. Dr Franco described the content: "Imagine walking through the Hub at Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University Wellington and you encounter a never-before-seen creature with brightly coloured feathers and a big beak. As you walk around the creature, it suddenly changes into a bright red lava flow, spewing and splattering. You can almost feel the heat around you. The lava flow changes into a woman in white dancing in the bush, at the ocean, in the desert. Faster and faster the images change as the music goes faster and faster."

Dr Franco, artistic director at With Lime, used a WATCHPAX 4 media server, two projectors and WATCHOUT to map and playback content on the Hako – the first time he had worked with the Dataton system and mapping in general.

"This was my first experience using WATCHOUT’s 3D mapping capabilities and first time using a WATCHPAX," Dr Franco explained. "I was surprised how easy the 3D mapping was to use and the WATCHPAX was just a plug and play. The system worked flawlessly for the duration of installation. I’m already starting another project!"

Billed as a dynamic – and playful – experience of sight and sound, the free installation featuring the imaginings of artists from around the world ran 11 hours a day during March 2021.