Filled II: perception (2009)
interactive installation + sculptural

: : Reflective Space and Skin Consciousness

Interactive relation between body and space has been my major research interest. Reflecting body real-time status and presence to the external environment makes us aware of ourselves more significantly, that is, how meaningful and beautiful to be there now. Filled (2008) is my first attempt to create an augmented reality, which quantifies digital events in physical reality. In Filled II, projected water is manipulated by human body state through a log as a perceptional mediator.

How It Works

The projected video of water is manipulated by viewers’ skin conduction measured with Galvanic Skin Response (GRS) sensors by touching a log. GSR sensors are embedded on the surface of the log.

Like fish in the murky water, participants are actively engaging the world with non-visual language. Touch is the most powerful sense to “feel” physical world. Especially, skin plays significance roles in my project. Since it entirely covers our body and is exposed to the external world, giving us to perceive multi-dimensional world unlike limited “vision” of our eyes. Thus, by touching the work, participants experience transforming world reflecting themselves. The goal of this project is to augment and signify the physical proximity as communication.

Filled 2: Perception from shiori saito on Vimeo.

I found that people touched the log differently. Touching very gently, running their hands on the surface, holding hands with another person….. Despite the different approach, they were interacting with the log in the way playing instruments..

Probably, making more responsive area on the surface and more controls (color and sound) are future improvement. The coming up project: Symforest will situate this affective objects in the form of forest.

GSR reader

Initially, the code was made out of Processing but it didn’t work well to generate Quicktime movie..(it kept crushing and freezing for some reason…), so I made it with MAX5. It was obviously easier to make it on MAX…but I wanted to learn more about Processing..

Research
Plants conveying emotions

CREDITS:

Photography: Alisha Weng
Audio Visual + Technical support: ACAD AV service

Notes:

Software:
MAX/MSP

Material:
Arduino Diecimila
GSR sensors + reader
drift-log
Copper wires
Plastic screen