Expanding the Visible

Hypnagogic Experience.

We are all familiar with the two fundamental states of consciousness: sleep and wakefulness. But what do we know about what happens in between? A strange and fascinating state, characterized by dreamlike visions and unusual sensory experiences, situated at the threshold between full awareness and rest. Psychologists call it hypnagogia, but even before the term existed, artists had been drawing on it for centuries to source some of their most inspired ideas.

In recent years, new technologies have made it possible to recreate this particular state of consciousness using lamps that emit neurostimulatory light. The altered state induced by this type of light leads to deep relaxation and triggers an intense, kaleidoscopic experience of colors, psychedelic effects, shapes, and figures of sacred geometry.

As part of the hypnagogic sessions presented at Casino Luxembourg, composer and musician Hugo Figuera develops a musical approach conceived as a field of experience, in dialogue with neurostimulatory light devices, where sound becomes a vehicle for sensory exploration.

Alexandre Quaranta is a French philosopher and writer, as well as a teacher of dream yoga. He specializes in the interdisciplinary study of the wide spectrum of non-ordinary states of consciousness. He is particularly interested in methods for facilitating access to musical ecstasy and non-dual explorations through photoneuromodulation, as well as in developing an original approach to support the learning and exploration of lucid dreaming.

He is the author of the treatise Being Amazed to Be: Awakening to the Joy of Being Conscious, published by Originel Accarias.

Laura Kozlik, whose work lies at the intersection of art and inner exploration, examines the impact of images on our internal dynamics. In this context, she explores the connections between altered states of consciousness and unconscious representations.

In her practice, she places particular emphasis on imagination and sensory experience as catalysts for personal transformation. This integrative approach takes shape in individual energy-based guidance sessions.

Hugo Figuera is a composer and musician whose practice explores states of perception through sound.

Trained in piano from an early age, he developed a sensitive approach to musical writing before immersing himself in electronic production, particularly in the field of drum and bass, where he explores the physical and immersive dimensions of sound, rhythm, and repetition.

His work is now evolving toward hybrid forms at the crossroads of composition, sound design, and perceptual experimentation. Through textures, slow oscillations, pulses, and evolving sonic spaces, he seeks to create listening environments that foster attention, introspection, and altered states of consciousness.

Photo: Alexandre Quaranta