We’ve seen a lot of pop-up “art installations” come and go in recent years, but the vast majority of them feel more like Instagram sets than actual art. While we can’t vouch for it personally yet, one potential exception to the rule is the newly opened Quantum Mirror.

Described as a “transcendent immersive art experience,” the techno-futuristic installation was designed by Chicago-based Guatemalan new media artist Adrian Stein (a.k.a. Looneystein). At first glance, it reminds us of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms—until you get to the psychedelic virtual reality part anyway, masterminded by REM5, an extended reality agency and VR lab in St. Louis Park.

The project combines augmented reality with 3-D printed sculpture and trippy audio visuals. As Stein puts it, “We think of ourselves as limited by our bodies—locked in and static. Endless dogmas have arisen from the idea that our minds are more powerful than the matter that they are suspended in. ‘Quantum Mirror’ brings the way we view our bodies into question by superimposing the body into the infinite states of our mind, and seeing the body as a vehicle for our minds to transcend spacetime.”

Well, OK then! That leaves quite a bit to the imagination.

The installation runs through January 31, 2022. Tickets are $25 for a 25-minute experience; advance reservations are required and holiday gift certificates are available. Groups of up to six people can book a single time slot, but the installation is not open to children under 13. And those aged 13 to 17 require adult supervision—perhaps further proof that this isn’t just another Museum of Ice Cream knockoff.

REM5 VR LAB
4950 W. 35th St., St. Louis Park, MN; 952-855-7592.