In 2020, multidisciplinary artist Haiiileen unveiled Purple Rain — an immersive TIDAL commission celebrating Prince’s Vault music release and the legacy of his iconic Purple Rain album. Transforming sound into light and emotion, Haiiileen created a synesthetic installation that bathed viewers in waves of violet energy, reflection, and rhythm.
Blending art, music, and technology, the work honored Prince’s boundless creativity through a multisensory experience of color, vibration, and devotion — a core exploration in Haiiileen’s ongoing Sound & Spectrum series.
Title: Purple Rain (2020) — Commission for TIDA L: Prince Vault Album Installation
- Artist / Creative Director: Haiiileen
- Commissioned by: TIDAL
- Installation Title: Purple Rain
- Location: LA , cALI
- Year: 2019
Description
“Purple Rain” (2020) was a site-specific immersive installation commissioned by TIDAL to celebrate the release of Prince’s Vault music collection and the anniversary of his legendary album, Purple Rain.
Through a vibrational, light-driven environment, Haiiileen re-imagined the sonic power of Prince’s universe — translating the rhythm and emotion of his sound into synesthetic waves of color, reflection, and movement.
The installation became an experiential homage:
-shimmering light mirrored through resin and glass,
-fog and projection layered with violet hues,
– sound-reactive lighting that pulsed to the frequencies of Prince’s music.
“Prince’s music has always felt like color to me — deep violet frequencies that move between sensuality and power. This piece was my way of honoring that vibration in physical form.” — Haiiileen
Conceptual Framework
- Synesthetic Tribute: Translating sound into color and movement as an act of reverence.
- Vault Celebration: Created in conjunction with the release of Prince’s unreleased works on TIDAL.
- Chromatic Immersion: A study in the emotional language of violet, representing transformation, spirituality, and creative liberation.
- Temporal Space: A sensory environment where time dissolved into rhythm and reflection.
Installation Details
- Mediums: Acrylic, resin, mirrored surfaces, violet lighting, fog projection, sound-reactive elements
- Dimensions: Variable installation
- Lighting Design: Custom-programmed sequence inspired by Purple Rain frequency mapping
- Music Integration: Curated TIDAL playlist featuring unreleased tracks from the Prince Vault
Artist Reflection
“Purple Rain” was more than an installation — it was a translation of frequency into feeling.
Prince’s work has always resonated deeply with me as a synesthetic experience — I don’t just hear his music; I see it in layers of violet, magenta, and electric indigo. His sound holds a rare duality: it’s both sacred and sensual, both thunder and tenderness.
When TIDAL approached me to create a piece honoring the release of Prince’s Vault collection, I knew it had to be immersive — a space where light, sound, and reflection merged into pure vibration.
Every material choice — the shimmer of resin, the density of fog, the mirrored violet glow — became part of that emotional spectrum. It was about letting the audience feel the pulse of “Purple Rain,” not just listen to it.
“In this work, I wanted to channel the storm of emotion that lives inside Prince’s music — that infinite moment where sound turns into color, and color becomes devotion.”
The project remains one of the most spiritually charged works I’ve ever created — a portal of remembrance, resonance, and reverence for an artist who taught us that creativity has no ceiling, only vibration.
Archival Significance
- Marks one of Haiiileen’s first major collaborations with a global music platform (TIDAL).
- Continues her exploration of music-driven installations following Hiiipnotiiic x TIDAL (2020).
- Establishes her visual language for translating sound frequencies into immersive spatial design.
- Recognized as part of her “Sound & Spectrum” series within the Haiii on Art collection.
“Prince taught the world that art and sound could be infinite.
Purple Rain wasn’t just music — it was energy.
This installation let me step inside that storm of color and devotion