Rama said it best in this description from the Mill Website:
Rama Allen, Executive Creative Director explains “In a time when we regularly discuss reality as a medium, be it virtual identity or augmented, we begin to consider the translation of self in digital space. The Looking Glass was inspired by carnival funhouse mirrors in the way they distort reality and digital presence, creating our reflection as our machines see us.
“The installation offers real-time advanced manipulation of procedural effects via distortion, colour, camera and background, creating unique images formed from our identity and manipulation of the image. We are the source and the curator of our digital identity."
To experience The Looking Glass, users enter the installation and select a look from a range of pre-sets, instigating a countdown. Users strike-a-pose and The Looking Glass captures their ‘reflections,’ creating a beautiful and abstract image. These images can then be customized on an iPad by adjusting the reflection with different camera angles and distortion options, creating a truly unique image that is formed from the users own identity.
By combining art, creative coding and artistry, this experience was designed to induce a sense of wonder and discovery. The Looking Glass translates everyone that enters the photo booth into a colourful burst of digital data.
The custom software, designed and written at The Mill, was developed for the New York studio’s annual summer party, has since been featured at the 2015 UK MVA awards and now is a permanent fixture in the New York studio.
The installation could generate very high res images for print. One of my first test shots became the sample on display during the event.
One of my favorite things about a project this creative is the life it takes on after it’s left your hands. The Looking Glass was repurposed in so many ways. It was used as a permanent installation in New York and a photobooth in London. But in my favorite re-imagining, directors Tom Basis and Adam Carboni chose to use it as a realtime effects camera for an IBM Watson x Marchesa collaboration. They made some gorgeous captures and released a film which was displayed during the Met Gala 2016, Manus x Machina.