centrala: sensorama

three individuals can experience the cold of poland’s 1979 winter at once all images courtesy of dafna talmon

‘sensorama’ is a winter-making machine by polish design studio centrala. the interactive installation was presented in the heat of summer during the blue festival in jaffa, old harbour, israel. it provided a sensory trip for participants, carrying them away for a moment, to poland’s hardest winter of the 20th century in 1979. the machine reproduced all the sensations generated by a frosty winter, such as images, temperature, smell, sound and the level of air quality. by putting their heads inside ‘sensorama’ three persons, strangers to one another, simultaneously experienced a reality completely alien to them.

exterior view of ‘sensorama’

the three holes in which participants can put their heads inside ‘sensorama’

getting ready…

…slowly entering… …almost there…

…inside ‘sensorama’.

inside ‘sensorama’ where the wintery landscape of 1979 poland is reproduced

images, temperature, smell, sound, level of air quality all help to create the feel of winter