Hear ye hear ye. The fabled Der Grosse Gottlieb, the greatest acrobat of his generation, will perform his final amazing trick. After building a tower of chairs twice the size of the Eiffeltower, he will now built a tower of mythical proportions, high enough to knock on heaven's door to visit the stars!

Der Grosse gottlieb is the second addition in a series of fantastical dioramas for the Oculus Rift by interactive illustrator Daniel Ernst called The Shoebox Diorama. The first diorama Blocked In was one of the top downloaded experiences for the Rift.

Dioramas can be compared to a performance by an illusionist. The illusionist uses narrative to turn a trick into an illusion. In my dioramas interactivity and the Rift are the tricks and the narrative turns them into an illusion. Let me give you two examples:

The story of Gottlieb is about him trying to reach the stars. By making the stars above his head small and pulling them close to the players head, the illusion is created that you are within reach of the stars. The people will then, if they are a child or someone who is not easily embarrassed in public, try and grab a star. This illusion gives the visitor an emotion that ties into the narrative of the diorama.

Der Grosse Gottlieb can be enjoyed with or without a physical installation. The installation premièred at Amaze festival and was built @ w00t festival in Copenhagen. The installation was built in cooperation with Dutch sculptress Catinka Kersten who was recently added to the collection of two museum collections, one of which is Beelden aan Zee. A virtual tour of the installation is added to the zip of the diorama which can be downloaded from the top right download section.

© 2014 The Shoebox Diorama, All rights reserved.