At La Tour du Fantastique in Neuchâtel, John Howe’s illustrated world is extended through an augmented-reality experience described in the original article, published in 2026. The aim is not to remove the work from its setting. Instead, it offers another way to welcome visitors into the artist’s imaginative universe at the beginning of the tour.
John Howe is known in particular for conceptual work associated with J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The venue brings together more than 250 original works and invites visitors to explore stories, myths and images in which detail matters as much as the overall vision. In that setting, Cybel’Art approaches digital technology as a mediation tool, in keeping with its signature: We Humanize Digital.
An encounter designed for its setting
The collaboration presents John Howe as an icologram®: a three-dimensional volumetric capture of his presence, voice and gestures. The experience does not set out to create a synthetic character. It uses a recording of the artist that is intended to appear in augmented reality on a visitor’s smartphone.
The icologram® protocol therefore adds a welcome sequence to the visit. This digital presence is not a replacement for the artist or for his drawings; it is an entry point into the exhibition and the story it tells. Learn more about the icologram® and Cybel’Art’s augmented-reality and virtual-reality practice.
From capture to augmented reality
The source article credits the Real Illusions engine partnership for the augmented-reality deployment. Its role here is specific: making the volumetric sequence prepared with John Howe visible on the visitor’s device and within the venue. It supports contextual mediation rather than a claim to reproduce a human presence perfectly.
That distinction matters to Cybel’Art. Technology can amplify access to a story while leaving the work, its author and its setting at the centre. An interview at La Tour du Fantastique with Pierluigi Christophe Orunesu explores this dialogue between artistic practice and augmented reality.
An extension without conflating timelines
This project is reported for 2026; the article does not confirm a deployment month. It forms part of a John Howe experience in Neuchâtel, without asserting that the installation remains currently available or that future extensions will be offered. Our work provides further context on Cybel’Art formats and collaborations.
Here, fantasy and technology do not merge into one another. The former remains in the works and imagined worlds of John Howe; the latter gives visitors an additional way to cross their threshold.
Editorial adaptation of the article by Pierluigi Christophe Orunesu, originally published on Substack on 9 July 2026. Read the original article on Substack