Between The Flesh
This project interacts with the device to talk to the flesh, and to demonstrate the vitality between the flesh.
produced by: Qianhui Fan
Concept
The first part: Who decides the disability, scars, surgery to cut off the chest or limbs is abnormal, so it must be covered up? It is true that physical wounds or disabilities can bring unavoidable hardships, but social assumptions and value judgments increase unnecessary pain. Who should control everything? Who is responsible for determining the way, time, motivation, and what this review means to us?
Although grotesque (morbid) skin appears unpleasant and embarrassing to some people, it confirms the physical existence and mortality of the body. And by violating established limits on acceptable appearance, grotesque skin subverts and resists social practices that tend to suppress individual differences or limit freedom of speech. Furthermore, grotesque skin can also reveal the pain and exclusion experienced by people in real life. The grotesque makes us focus on our physical tangibility. It almost manifests itself as a threat, proving our own instability and uncertainty, and noting that our own vulnerability is pure. I tried to express the personal feelings and meanings of living in a body that has a death and is constantly deformed and fragile. It hints at the wandering unreliance of the human nature that is separated from the body, and the confusion on the physical boundaries between humans and all non-humans. Find a delicate balance.
The second part: Is the skin a biological organic matter or a cultural product? The skin itself has value, and its value is often measured in relation to other body values. For example, in contemporary Western society, delicate skin is considered to be the most valuable female body feature. The strong and strong muscles are the most important male physical characteristics. These values are conveyed by the message that the mass media is overwhelmingly dominant, which connects delicate female skin and strong male muscles with other qualities that we value. However, the meaning of the skin is not just that a piece of skin is confined to the beauty and ugliness. It covers the surface of the body. The epidermis is tough and soft, and the dermis is elastic. The subcutaneous tissue acts as a cushion to cushion external mechanical impact. Can resist mild, alkaline stimulation and prevent bacteria and viruses from invading the body. This flesh contains the vitality that you can't imagine. If you observe it with a microscope, you will find bacteria, cells and even viruses creeping here, operating and fighting every minute and every second. Under the skin is a microscopic and precise life factory. We always think of ourselves as a complete body of life under the skin, and ignore the vitality of countless cells inside.
As one of the most cutting-edge fields in the 21st century, the development of life sciences, especially synthetic biology, not only gives people the ability to further design life, but also releases the infinite potential of organisms as an artistic medium and creates new Conversation space. This project interacts with the device to talk to the flesh, and to demonstrate the vitality between the flesh.
Technical / Details
I tried to show a morbid atmosphere, the masks and limbs were placed on the shelf in a lifeless manner, under the illumination of colorful lights as if someone was doing a mysterious human experiment. This looks dangerous and interesting. It seems to be telling its story, showing the dark romantic spirit, full of understanding and possibility. Wandering between pain, longing and death. When someone approaches it, the distance detection sensor will pass the sensing data to openframeworks to mobilize the alarm sound setting, which warns the intruder that this is a dangerous land, making the audience feel nervous and irritable. Once it reaches its field completely (within a distance of 10cm), the siren will stop. My original intention is to show that the audience has been accepted by this environment and is also a sick individual.
When the audience touches or presses the scar on the skin, not only the color of the light will change, making the skin more strange in different tones, but also the Arduino will send the sensing data to openframeworks to mobilize the corresponding dynamic pattern. The basis of my design is the microscopic world in the skin, such as the behavior of simulating virus morphology, gene skeleton, and protein transcription, all expressing inner vitality.
After investigating the work of artist Luke Jerram (the virus is colorless), I decided to choose colorless patterns, simple black and white with simple geometric figures to make the visual effect more advanced and formal.
The process of making props
Classwork 01
The main technique of this practice is how to allow communication between openFrameWorks and Arduino.
Sketch
It mainly combines the three software of Max, openFrameWorks and Arduino. Max is connected to Kinect. Once the human body moves, it will mobilize the sound in the sound library. At the same time, openFrameWorks uses the function of collecting sound. Once the sound is received and is greater than a value, the data will be sent to the Arduino. Then the display connected to the Arduino will receive the command and convert it into new text. At the same time, the new response of Arduino will be fed back to openFrameWorks, and the text on the screen of of will also change. This is an interactive process.
It is used in the project Noise Rhapsody. This project is based on a critical practice approach that uses disobedient voices to against being ruled and being defined. Because discourse to some extent limits the way of thinking and practical ability, the ‘rules’ are both the support of power and the boundary of the range in which power can be exercised.Contrary to the so-called rules, from a physical point of view, noise is the sound of the frequency and intensity of sound waves irregularly and disorderly. It seems to be always challenging stable systems and structures, breaking through established boundaries and establishing different connections to promote ‘variation’. The performer turns on the noise through the command, and the noise also affects the performer. It is transmitting that it is now noise. The performer needs to stop still to suppress the noise. It is like the power person wants to define the rules through the discourse, but the rules are constantly broken, and destroyed.
This is a link to the full version of Noise Rhapsody：https://compartsblog.doc.gold.ac.uk/index.php/work/noise-rhapsody/