Residents of Barcelona had the opportunity to see Antoni Gaudi’s 120-year-old La Sagrada Familia in a new light recently as Montreal-based media studio and light artists Moment Factory projection mapped a multimedia display over the cathedral’s facade. While Gaudi’s signature stone carvings portraying dripping stone, fanciful plant forms, and intricate religious displays in their normally sand-colored hue are usually enough to dazzle the viewers eye, the gaudy splash provided one psychedelic experience.

The fifteen minute show, Ode à la vie, projected clouds and cascading waterfalls on the church’s facade, complete with fog and a soundtrack by Anthony Rozankovic and Misteur Valaire. The display attracted a crowed of 32,000 people who were showered with thousands of shimmering LED butterflies.

Inspiration came from Gaudi himself who envisioned the cathedral full of color upon its completion, estimated for 2026. The show certainly mirrored Gaudi’s style that greeted an old traditional world with fantastical modern design.