Tower Obscura
An exploration of pre-digital imaging technology, the Tower Obscura is a lightweight, easy-to-assemble, and accessible camera obscura designed to reframe how visitors perceive their surroundings. Created for the Seattle Design Festival, the 10-foot-tall optical tower captures a panoramic view of its environment, producing a striking, inverted projection that merges sky and ground into a single, disorienting image.
By relying on pre-digital optics, the project invites visitors to slow down and observe how images are formed.
Details
LOCATION Seattle WA
COMPLETED 2018
DIMENSIONS 8’ x 12’
MEDIUM Fabric, Plywood, 3D printed parts, Scaffolding
DESIGNERS Shane Leaman
Inside Tower Obscura, the world appears flipped, blurred, and reassembled through light alone.
The installation offers a voyeuristic, topsy-turvy view of the city, both playful and unsettling.
The tower transforms a familiar place into an unexpected visual experience.
Lightweight construction and simple assembly made the tower accessible, transportable, and festival-ready.
