Commissioned by renowned video artist Marco Brambilla, I led the creative direction for a series of large-scale scenographic projections in Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s contemporary staging of Pelléas et Mélisande. The production marked the centenary of Debussy’s death and brought together an exceptional pan-European team across direction, set design, and choreography.

Working in close collaboration with Brambilla and motion specialists Territory Studio, we developed a series of animations that explore the subconscious emotional landscapes of the opera’s protagonists. Projected onto a suspended 7-metre disc — the symbolic iris within Marina Abramović’s surreal set design — the visuals formed a central element of the opera’s scenography.

Using archival imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, we crafted a visual language that mirrored the psychological and emotional tensions within the narrative. The animations ranged from the organic to the geometric, the subtle to the dramatic — offering a metaphysical interpretation of the opera’s themes of longing, loss, and isolation.

Brambilla described the result as “a psychological portal of loneliness, violence, drama, resolution and death,” where cosmic imagery becomes a brushstroke for emotional expression.

The project premiered in February 2018 and toured major European venues, with an exclusive two-minute edit later commissioned by Nowness.

Creative Team

Commissioned by: Marco Brambilla
Production Studio: Territory
Creative Direction: Nils Kloth
Producer: Alice Ceresole


Opera Credits

Director/Choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet
Set Design: Marina Abramović
Costume Design: Iris van Herpen
Scenographic Projections: Marco Brambilla
Dramaturgy: Koen Bollen & Piet De Volder
Chorus Master: Jan Schweiger