THE ninth Illuminating York Festival takes the theme of York’s Leading Lights in a celebration of innovation and discovery in the city.

Science and art come together in the central piece Hidden Worlds, a “projection-mapped artwork” created by Seeper for the walls of York Crown Court in the Eye of York, inspired by the ground-breaking work of York scientist John Snow.

Snow was the 19th century physician who not only discovered how cholera spread but also pioneered the use of anaesthetics. In homage to Snow’s story, Seeper’s 3D projection-mapped animation will take festival audiences into the hidden worlds of the microscopic and the unconscious from this evening until Saturday.

Hidden Worlds will be Seeper’s first contribution to Illuminating York after a 15-year history of designing ambitious 3D projection mapping shows that provide “immersive experiences that inspire a sense of wonderment”.

Alex Tennyson, a creator and producer in the Interactive arts and technology field, is the lead artist for Hidden Worlds.

“Seeper have been talking to Illuminating York for five years, but the festival always went for something a bit more academic in the past,” he says. “Our piece won’t be academic, but maybe it will be a little bit scary. A little bit dark, but light too!”

Alex, once a member of Seeper and now a freelance commissioned by the company, has put together a team of three to create Hidden Worlds, being joined by animator Cero Treees and composer Tyeeone.

Alex took his inspiration from Snow’s work with cells. “The way I looked at it was that there was already a link between Seeper and Snow in the abstract sense because both techniques involve code-based duplication,” he says.

The Crown Court did not look fondly on the ice rink that used to brighten up winters at Christmas at the Eye of York, but Alex is hoping for a more favourable reaction to the imagery soon to be projected on the law court building.

“I’ve got a rusty water pump I want to put on their building and I definitely want them to turn off the lights at night,” he says.

“It’s a wonderful site for us because it’s all enclosed and we’ll have some lighting on Clifford’s Tower too, some simple white washes.”

After doing projections in Berlin, London, Birmingham, New York, Belfast and Bournemouth, Alex will be lighting up York for the first time.

“The most unusual place was the Titanic building in Belfast, on the docks, with 60,000 people watching 40 projections on three sides of the building. Amazing.”

Now York awaits his latest illumination.

• Seeper’s Hidden Worlds will be projected on to the York Crown Court in the Eye of York, as the centrepiece of the Illuminating York Festival 2014, from this evening until Saturday, 6pm to 10pm. Eleven more new illuminating artworks are spread across the city, complemented by a supporting programme mounted by York’s visitor attractions.