·
Wake, which evokes the sensations of water wrapping around
the body that occur when entering the water from a beach and the relative calm
once past the surf.
· Dropping,
which evokes the sensory experiences of
shallow breath diving, which are to descend under the water, to experience
a feeling of the environment slowing down and then to surface again for air.
· Under, which suggests the bodily feelings of breathing out
while looking up to the surface from under the water.
The
aim of these installations is to suggest to the viewer the sensory experiences
of submersion in water. During the development of these installations three
questions were researched and solutions developed.
1)
How can video installations be used to evoke sensory experience?
The
works have used first person viewpoints. Sounds and imagery have been digitally
manipulated and processed to enhance the suggestive qualities of the media.
The three video installations have been positioned in the gallery spaces in
a manner which facilitates the experience, building to a powerful impact.
The sounds have been orchestrated mindful of the juxtaposition of the works.
The overall effect enhances the suggestion of submersion in water.
2)
How can unobtrusive interactivity be used to enhance the viewer’s engagement
with the works?
Sensing
techniques that are intuitive in the context of the gallery have been used.
The control system is based on probability and has a memory and understanding
of past and present action in the gallery. The control system averages the
current activity levels of all the installations to orchestrate them together.
These methods result in an unobtrusive integration of the viewer’s engagement
with the works.
3)
What are the methods for a solo artist to develop interactive video installations?
A
methodology for producing interactive video installations was developed (as
documented in Appendix One). Commonly-used software
and hardware have been used to achieve the immersive surround effect of the
final installations.
These
solutions and the final installations are the results of my investigation
into ‘what are the aesthetic and technical issues involved in evoking
corporeal sensations of submersion in water?’
During
the investigation a number of methods were developed that were successful
and some which I would change in hindsight. The audio in the final works is
one of the most successful aspects in terms of how it adds to the evocative,
immersive effect of the installations. If greater emphasis was placed on the
sound in the early stages of the project it may have developed differently.
In addition, earlier adoption of 3D models of the gallery space may have made
some of the experimentation with the works in the gallery unnecessary.
The
methodologies developed here update previous attempts to evoke subjective
sensory experiences. In a rapidly changing field the approach employed in
this studio-based investigation will provide a model for other artists seeking
to employ interactive video installations for their evocative potential as
a medium.
Future directions
include the combination of some these successful aspects of the project and
investigation of the possibilities of tactility. One project will develop
prototype interactive objects that will evoke what might be found near the
water. As children most people have listened to
the sea in a shell at the beach. What I plan to do is explore this type of
experience with found objects on a beach to create an almost magical object
that is made alive by technology. This has been supported by a development
grant from the New Media Arts Fund of The Australia Council for the Arts.
Expertise in building interactive objects which merge electronics, sensing
and media technologies together will be developed by attending an orientation
residency at Steim [1] in the Netherlands
and the development of three prototype objects over a period of two months
following the residency.
Liquid Sensations
has been restricted to the use of video and sound technologies to evoke sensations.
The next development will be to investigate whether removing video from the
process and replacing it with interactive light systems would be successful.
Other possibilities include the exploration of the tactile sensation of cold
on the skin in the water by the use of air conditioning systems to change
the room’s temperature. The focus of these installations would be on
the use of sound. Algorithmic numerical methods such as using probability
to calculate the activity states and the use of sine functions to control
the underwater sounds in this research project will be explored further.
next
[1] http://www.steim.nl steim (the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music)
is the only independent live electronic music centre in the world that is
exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. Steim promotes the idea that
touch is crucial in communicating with the new electronic performance art
technologies. Steim produces software and technologies to aid performing artists
to merge together performances, electronics and computer media. They run programs
where artists visit for short residencies to develop projects, in both the
early stages and the production phases.
