Origin Story
From robot art at Bristol Robotics Laboratory to world-first mixed reality performances, the story of how Octopus Immersive came to be.
The Gentleman Octopus
Octopus Immersive Laboratory was founded in 2015 by director Benjamin Winstone, initially named 'The Gentleman Octopus'. The company formed naturally as Ben began making robot art as a creative pursuit alongside his robotics research. Much of Ben's research had been in or around bio-inspired and bio-mimetic design and octopuses have always been a fascinating example of mechanics, intelligence and adaption. They have been a big inspiration behind the business, and will continue to be so.
Bristol Robotics Laboratory
In the early days, Ben was based at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which provided access to a wealth of fabrication tools and creative minds, many of which have been involved in a project or two over the years. We developed art installations for festivals and galleries which incorporated a mix of animatronics, electronics, lighting and machine vision whilst fabricating with laser cutters, 3D printers, traditional workshop tools and welding.
UK Festival Circuit
Through the years we have contributed to a number of UK festivals including Boomtown, Shambala, Secret Garden Party, Wonderfields, Beautiful Days and True Fest. We have also worked with the National Trust Tyntesfield Estate and Wallace & Gromit's sculpture trail through University of Bristol.
Oracle & Sian Cross
In 2020 we worked with singer Sian Cross to create a music video featuring our 'Oracle' sound reactive giant head, which you may have seen at a number of UK festivals. The Oracle married well with the lyrics of Sian's song 'Tell Anybody' and illuminates in response to the music throughout the video.
Wake The Tiger & Massive Attack
We contributed to the first phase of the world's first Amazement Park — Wake The Tiger, designing a colourful and fully interactive room, along with a number of technology-based interaction points around the park. We also worked with Rob Del Naja (Massive Attack) developing a robotic system that can paint and spray can graffiti like a human, exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery's Beyond The Streets Exhibition 2023.
Robotic Graffiti
We contributed to the first phase of the world's first Amazement Park — Wake The Tiger, designing a colourful and fully interactive room, along with a number of technology-based interaction points around the park. We also worked with Rob Del Naja (Massive Attack) developing a robotic system that can paint and spray can graffiti like a human, exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery's Beyond The Streets Exhibition 2023.
KAGAMI — Mixed Reality Performance
In 2023 we worked on the world's first 100-person mixed reality music performance produced by Tin Drum and featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto. Everyone in the audience wears a Magic Leap 2 headset whilst being immersed in 3D visuals which evolve along with select songs from Ryuichi's extensive career. This show has been presented in New York, Manchester, London, Taiwan and Italy.
Octopus Immersive Laboratory
In 2024 we decided to change our name to 'Octopus Immersive Laboratory' — we feel it more clearly represents what we do now. We make both physical and digital experiences which immerse the user. We are pushing more into XR technology, and have been successful with a number of research grants.
Want to work with us?
We're always looking for new collaborations and ambitious projects.
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