This multimedia installation was presented during the Site Size Sight specific exhibition (Si.Si.Spex) at the Rietveld Academy on 1 - 2 December 2017. The installation is a result of research and experimentation of the interconnection between tactility, light and sound. Two curiosities have been the foundation of the work: Why do we (or I at least) have the urge to simulate the human body? and How do I create affordance of those simulated objects without any literal direction?  

I started with the experimentation of simple simulations of bodily objects; hands in (partly fluorescent) silicone containing electrical circuits with light sensors in its fingers. These interactive hands serve as an interface between movement/touch and sound that is generated via MAX MSP by the means of the changing values of light as a consequence of this (human) contact and balance play. The hands were (again) too theatrical to my taste, not adding much value besides the familiarity we all recognize. Because of this, I made the transition from familiar forms to an unfamiliar, abstract, one for the main installation.

It resulted in a much more interesting work. Together with the sound and the presence of the light sensors in the abstract form, it becomes an instrument to search for and play with balance by the means of movement and touch.

 

This work has been selected for the Rietveld Uncut exhibition of 2018 from 21 - 24 March at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; Hold me now; Feel and Touch in an Unreal World. For this exhibition, I further developed the main silicone interactive sculpture.

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MATERIAL, MEDIA AND INTERFACES

Silicone, plaster, glass, video, light sensors, grey mdf, wood, (UV) light, the 4 lights of the ceiling of the space, lenses, MAX MSP