Hellicar & Lewis

Hellicar & Lewis was a London-based creative technology, interaction design and experiential art studio founded in 2008 by Pete Hellicar and Joel Gethin Lewis. Its work connected digital systems with physical environments through installations that responded to people, movement and live information. The studio ceased operations in 2016; its legal entity was dissolved on 4 March 2025.

The practice combined creative coding, art direction and physical-digital computing for cultural institutions, public spaces and commercial brands. Its installations used real-time graphics, motion tracking, projection mapping and generative imagery to make audience participation part of the work. A recurring approach was the creation of “feedback loops” between visitors, architectural spaces and technology, allowing an experience to change in response to its surroundings.

Interactive experiences

For Tate Modern’s Yayoi Kusama exhibition in 2012, the studio created The Hello Cube, a Twitter-connected installation commissioned in collaboration with Louis Vuitton. Its Coca-Cola 24hr Music Session work translated online fan reactions into real-time projections during a recording session with Maroon 5.

Other cultural projects explored the relationship between information and place. Discover Infrastructure, developed for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition about Ove Arup, used a dual-screen 3D mapping installation to present engineering and archaeological histories associated with High Speed 1 and the Elizabeth Line. Swnt, commissioned by the National Trust in Aberdaron, combined light and sound with responses to tidal data, the sun’s position and visitor gestures.

Commercial projects included interactive environments for Adidas and Nike, alongside permanent technological installations for House of Vans London. For Cartoon Network UK’s Adventure Time – An Ooo Experience, the studio collaborated with Kettle Studio and Undabo on a touring experience using body tracking and real-time character puppetry.

Across these commissions, the studio brought software development into exhibition and experience design, treating the audience’s actions as an input to the finished work.