Fortune Teller by Julie Stephen Chheng at Alliance Française Madras is an interactive projection that places the viewer face-to-face with Nature spirits

You may have heard the phrase “eyes speak.” Alliance Française Madras’s newest exhibition brings this idea to life in its truest sense. As you walk through the space, you enter a realm where eyes of varying shapes, sizes, and colours follow your presence, sometimes revealing something unexpectedly intimate about you. 

Fortune Teller by Julie Stephen Chheng is an interactive projection that places the viewer face-to-face with Nature spirits. These encounters unfold into personal messages within a dreamlike environment brought to life by augmented reality. 

Visitors are invited to download an app before entering the space, which allows them to scan the artworks and uncover the hidden messages they reveal. “Fortune Teller explores how Nature can become a source of inspiration, and how its elements can shape and reveal our fortunes. The project unfolds through the stories of eight distinct characters, each representing a natural element — fire, water, earth, and others — coming together to form a larger narrative,” says Julie.

Viewers can see the messages once they scan the artworks
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One message says, “You’re in the middle of a storm…perhaps a little chaos is necessary for renewal,” while others read as quiet affirmations, “you are beautiful,” and “we dont perceive things the same way.” 

“Each of these characters has a different way of seeing the world. Their eyes can be animated through augmented reality to share their individual visions. It’s a way of telling that even as human beings, each of us perceives the world differently, and that understanding comes from learning to see through other people’s eyes,”  says Julie.

The inspiration for the figurines is linked to India through Daruma, a paper doll.
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One of the most playful moments unfolds as you enter a room dominated by a giant screen, where bursts of colour and fast-moving figurines move past faster than the eyes can register. At first, the experience feels almost trippy, with streams of texts flashing by too quickly to grasp. Press a button on the stand in one corner, and it all comes together– pausing long enough to reveal something personal. One message read, “it’s time to pull back,” while others say, “ try to get around the obstacle.” Depending on what you are navigating in life, the messages can feel hauntingly apt. 

“The inspiration for the figurines is linked to India through daruma. The daruma is a small paper doll, widely known in Japan, believed to help wishes come true. Its origins trace back to India, to the monk Bodhidharma. Symbolically, the doll is depicted with only one eye; once a goal is achieved, the second eye is drawn in. Daruma is deeply connected to the symbolism of vision,” says Julie. 

Blending technology with quiet introspection, the exhibition reminds us that meaning often emerges when we allow ourselves to see the world from a different perspective.

Fortune Teller, presented by the French Institute in India in collaboration with Alliance Française Madras, is on till February 20 at Alliance Française Madras, Nungambakkam, from 10am to 6pm. Entry free.