12 DECEMBER 14-20, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The Magic Yeti PERMANENT IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE SHIKI DREAMS IS A MYSTICAL WONDERLAND. BY JULIANNA O’CL AIR Shiki, Denver’s very own yeti, was last spotted in 2020, surrounded by glowing fairy lights and curiously peeking out from behind an aspen tree in the Shiki Dreams immersive art pop-up at the Prismajic studio at 2219 East 21st Avenue. It was considered an artistic masterwork that was named fourth-best immersive art exhibit by USA Today in 2021. Now Shiki fans can explore his mystical, natural home, venture into the yeti’s dreams and escape into the blissful universe of Pris- majic in a permanent, expanded version of Shiki Dreams that opens in Lakewood on Friday, December 15. Shiki — which means “four seasons” in Japanese — is the brainchild of the im- mersive art and entertainment company Prismajic. Company co-founders Jennifer Mosquera and Eric Jaenike created the parent company Artistry Events and Design (AED), an art-forward design fi rm, in 2012. AED was rebranded as Prismajic in 2017, and the company shifted its focus to the creation of beautiful, sensory immersive installations. “Even at the founding of AED, we knew we wanted to do our own large-scale art projects, but we knew we didn’t have the skill set for that,” Jaenike says, explaining the reason for the rebrand. “So we founded AED with the specifi c intent of using that as a launch point to create our own experiences. AED was the vehicle through which we ac- quired the personnel, knowledge, materials, processes and teams to create. “Immersive art allows you to harness the power of [every medium],” he adds, not- ing that the installations can “engage with people through a number of senses, and that creates the most powerful emotional response. As a tool, when [immersive art] is done right, it’s so moving and able to change people’s perspectives.” One of Prismajic’s fi rst projects was the immersive show Natura Obscura (which means “hidden nature”) at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Greenwood Village in 2019. “That experience was an exploration of the life of the mind using the metaphor of a walk through a surrealist forest,” Jaenike explains. “Tying into that is this concept of nature baths and moving toward more holistic ap- proaches toward wellness. And we’ve kept that underlying theme in our experiences.” “I love physiology and philosophy and psychology, and so all of these things kind of came together,” says Mosquera, who is the team’s creative leader. “You would interface with these natural archetypes — so, a cave, fi re, water, wind, that sort of thing. And then we would create a metaphor based on what Mother Nature was telling you, and then the human condition and how that is a parallel to these things that happen in nature.” Mosquera comes up with the installa- tion ideas, often pulling inspiration from a collection of images, and sends them to Prismajic’s team of artists, who create the artistic renderings as a group. “I don’t think we have one actual piece in any of the exhib- its we’ve ever done where only one artist has touched it,” she emphasizes. By early 2020, Natura Obscura was closed, and Mosquera and Jaenike planned to lease the Elvis Cinema in Arvada as a permanent exhibit location. They opened the Shiki Dreams pop-up in their studio as a fi ller proj- ect while fi nalizing their leasing agreement, embellishing the story of the mythical Shiki, one of the many forest creatures showcased in Natura Obscura. “We had a movie theater in mind. It had eight theaters, 25,000 square feet; it was go- ing to be the seven chakras and your aura,” Jaenike says, describing the real estate he and Mosquera were planning to lease. A few weeks before they signed, the pandemic hit, and Prismajic canceled the deal. “We had no idea when things would reopen, in what capacity or under what conditions,” Jaenike says, explaining why they decided not to lease. Despite the pandemic, the pair kept the pop-up Shiki Dreams exhibit open and al- lowed socially distant viewings. According to Jaenike, “One of the few benefi ts of the pandemic was that it did limit the attendance at the original Shiki Dreams, so we felt there was a great audience that hadn’t seen it yet.” Prismajic fi nally found a permanent instal- lation location in September 2022, replacing Spooky Golf in Colorado Mills mall. The space’s 23-foot ceilings and ample square footage lent itself to an expanded, reimagined version of Shiki Dreams. While the original installation was 1,400 square feet and divided into four rooms, each representing a differ- ent season, the new show is fi ve times larger, combining elements of the different chakras with Shiki’s world and dreamscape. “We are going to be exploring all the dif- ferent colors of the rainbow, all the different chakras and using...metaphors to bring that meaning forward without it being in your face,” Mosquera says. “So we will do a red room, which, in the chakra world, is about fear. And then we will address what fear is in the human condition.” “I very much believe in meeting people where they are,” Jaenike adds. “So if some- one wants to just have a really cool, visceral art experience, they can come and experi- ence Shiki Dreams at that level. Or if they want to take deeper dives and really look for metaphor and meaning, they can approach it at that level, as well.” Prismajic, with the help of more than 35 Colorado artists, is still completing six of the ten exhibit rooms, which are set to open to the public this summer. For now, the four rooms available for viewing include Shiki’s Real World, Tranquility, Curiosity and Boathouse. In Shiki’s Real World, visitors explore Shiki’s hut, a ramshackle building pain- fully constructed from reclaimed fence and polyurethane, and “see what his world is comprised of and what surrounds him,” Mosquera says. The other rooms are “expres- sions of some of the artifacts that you’ll fi nd in his main room, and that will give birth to a dream. Just like all of us when we dream, something from your mundane life makes it into the dream,” she continues. “And then it’s: What would a natural, mythical creature think of some of these man-made concepts?” Mosquera adds. “So the cardboard room, for instance, is an explo- ration of man-made crates and boxes. And he’s a Yeti who lives in the woods, so that’s a weird concept for him.” The cardboard art, shown in the Curiosity room, depicts a city of birds, illustrating the idea of blending the created and natural worlds. Shiki Dreams is designed to provide the same anxiety-reducing effects as practices such as forest bathing, sound bathing and meditation. The installation envelops the senses in soothing sounds, scents and light- ing, creating a mystical wonderland of relax- ing exploration. Special blends of essential oils fi ll each room with subtle scents, while sound effects such as running water drift through the space. Guests are allowed to touch some elements, and are given black lights for a scavenger hunt through the dreamy environs, making it a fully immersive experience. The attached bar and cafe, the Night Owls Bar — which looks just as magical as the exhibit itself — takes the journey fur- ther with food meant to stimulate multiple sensory experiences. The original Shiki Dreams armed visitors with headphones and an app that animated parts of the exhibit. But Prismajic is moving away from this version of augmented reality, choosing instead to incorporate the tech- nology into the exhibit, providing the same interactive elements without the distraction of a phone. Mosquera’s favorite aspect of Shiki Dreams is watching visitors relax, engage with the story and release their inner child. “It’s like this great unifi cation of who we are,” she says. “You give somebody one of those fl ashlights and then you hide things in a room, and it quickly transforms anybody into a younger version of themselves, as a kid going and exploring with a fl ashlight. “That metamorphosis and alchemiza- tion of people’s energy, once they get in the experience, is one of my favorite things to see,” she concludes. “People acting like kids, getting curious, discovering. They light up, and it’s super fun to watch. We help people fi nd their magic.” Shiki Dreams opens at noon on Friday, December 15, and continues from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, $24-$28, 14500 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 359B, Lakewood, prismajic.com. CULTURE KEEP UP ON DENVER ARTS AND CULTURE AT WESTWORD.COM/ARTS Shiki’s hut, made from recycled fence. LISA FOX
