The Wexner Center for the Arts has teamed up with COSI to present an exhibition that is as technical as it is aesthetic. “Supernova 3,” an installation of lasers, lights and mirrors created by Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata, combines the disciplines of both COSI and the Wexner Center.

“What his project shares with both the field of science and the field of art is a desire to explore new possibilities in human experience and to forge a fresh path through creative and technological terrain,” said Sherri Geldin, director of the Wexner Center.

The installation, housed at COSI, consists of two rooms. In the first room, the walls, floor and ceiling have been covered in reflective metallic sheets. Hundreds of mirrored cubes are suspended from transparent cords to reflect the atmospheric lighting and lasers that surge through the room.

Small, hidden motors keep the cubes in uniform rotation. As visitors walk through the exhibit, they are surrounded by an artificial, virtually endless universe of sparkling light.

The exhibition also has a continuous loop which changes the hue of the entire room from electric green to blackish-purple and about every color combination in between.

As visitors enter the second room, the manic visual frenzy ceases, revealing an atmosphere that is much more subdued, yet somewhat disconcerting. A fog of red, blue and yellow looms several feet over the viewers’ heads, creating a feeling comparable to falling into a hole and watching the world go on above.

This manipulation of sensation plays a major part in Yamagata’s work.

“Mostly, people talk about the science and art (combination) but for me, there is also literature and the situation part; what you are feeling and what you are sensing,” Yamagata said.

Yamagata’s interest in both sensation and space exploration started at an early age.

“My father worked for NASA when I was in high school,” he said. “One of my first projects was recording the wind songs made by the shuttles.”

Yamagata’s current fascination, light, follows in the tradition of many influential artists.

Robert Irwin and James Turrell started the Light-and-Space movement in California in the 1960s. Turrell created pieces using colored lights and the glow they cast upon the walls of a gallery. Irwin used natural light and various filters to realize his artistic visions.

Now, Yamagata’s work is paving the way for the visual art of the future, said Jeff Kipnis, curator of the Wexner Center and the exhibit.

“I think his work is at the forefront of a whole new attitude about how to make art, why to make art and how to use technology,” he said.

“Supernova 3” runs through September 1. The exhibit is included with general admission to COSI and is free for Wexner Center members and Ohio State students with valid Buck IDs.