As a part of Messenger’s third installment with Facebook Open Arts collaboration, Messenger introduces a new 360 Messenger Background from artist Sebastian Mary Tay, a Singapore-based artist, photographer, and educator. He created a “Seeking Starlight”, an imagination 360 landscape to visit with friends while on a video call.

To access Sebastian’s background, simply start a video call or create a Room from Messenger or Facebook. Tap the effects icon on your self-view then select “backgrounds” to access Sebastian Mary Tay’s background. Messenger Rooms lets you create a room to host joinable free video calls with up to 50 people and no time limit.

“Throughout his creation process, Sebastian focused on how his landscape could be as immersive as possible and how the still images could be experienced from different perspectives. To create his 360 background for Messenger, Sebastian first created a physical miniature mountain range by pouring flour and sawdust. He then used a 360 camera to capture the artwork and worked together with Messenger to combine this process with augmented reality. This resulted in the Seeking Starlight 360 background that is available today.”

“Sebastian has created something truly unique: an imaginative online world that was born offline using humble materials such as flour,” says Open Arts Curator Tamar Benzikry. “It really showcases the potential for what analog artists can do in digital space.”