Pareidolium

Pareidolium is a low, circular fountain that creates portraits of onlookers in mid-air with clouds of vapor that ascend from the water basin. The fountain uses hundreds of computer-controlled ultrasonic atomizers, placed under the reflecting water pool, which produce the plumes of cold vapor. As a visitor looks into the water, a facial-detection system extracts their image and creates an ephemeral likeness. The portrait becomes tangible, almost breathable, only briefly, then disappears in turbulence. A square display shows slow-motion images of the past 9 participants, capturing the fleeting moment of vapour portraiture.