Approximations - Interactive Happenings

Less Virtual, More Physical. Creating experiences in the REAL world surroundings.

Thank you for visiting! If you're referencing my work, please use #interactivehappenings #approximations hashtags.

Interactive Happening 1

"Abel Salazar Might Have Heard" - a site specific interactive sound installation contextualizing the life of Abel Salazar through sounds and music of his lifetime.

Used Technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / Arduino. The sounds are triggered by body proximity. The interrelation of installation participants with each other is achieved through the hearing modality. Visitors listen to the sounds and notice the way their movements impact the element they are triggering as well as the overall soundscape dynamic.

Interactive Happening 2

Untitled A playful interactive experience for all ages.

Used technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / Arduino. Influenced by Marina Abramovic's preformative intallation at MoMa, this Interactive Happening encourages human communication through play of light and sound. Participants (including the performer) sit around the table. They follow a simple script.

Interactive Happening 3

The Talking Vessels

Used technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / Arduino / PureData. When we manifest ourselves through voice we breathe light and movement into reality. Bouncing through numerous perceptions of others, our voices then morph into new forms until all individual qualities disappear into a synthesis of a soundscape fabric - a social happening. Influenced by Golan Levin's installation Eyecode and Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup. In this Interactive Happening the visitors voices become part of the soundscape comprising a mix by adding semantic and abstract sonic expression.

Props

At the entrance there is a microphone, it is accompanied by a light or a fan (at the discretion of the director)

In the next room, there are vessels (they can be food cans, pots made of clay or any other object which, at the time of happening, the presenter considers to be a “vessel”)

In the room with vessels the sounds can be triggered by waving your hand above each vessel.

Interactive Happening 4

A trip from Lucio Sestio (Via Tuscolana) to Pingeto Station in Rome.

Used technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / Arduino. This interactive happening brings together images and sounds captured on the same day during the same journey from one station to another in the Roman metro. It's an expression of an impression. It is designed for the participants of the happening to invoke the scene into a dynamic mix of media by triggering the sensors.

Interactive Happening 5

Stairwellbeing

Used technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / Arduino / Mad Mapper / Touch Designer.

With the idea of public art in mind and considering public spaces to be a great democratic outlet for the arts, this project aims to create an interactive collaborative environment for an art experiment. Choosing a public staircase at a university (ESMAD) I hope to transform a utilitarian space regularly used solely to get from one floor to another into a gallery space prompting contemplation and exploration of the space as a creative means.

Interactive Mediascape

Azulejos of the Sea

Used technology - Ultrasonic proximity sensors / ESP32 / Pure Data / Reaper / Touch Designer.

At the base of this project are two components: the sea and azulejos - a Portuguese type of tiles widely used in buildings exterior (and sometimes interior) decorating. After experimenting with generative visuals originating from the video of the sea, I found an amazing similarity in the patterns produced by the computer and what I was seeing in the streets of Porto. The ceramic tiles widely present on older buildings are like a reflection of the waves augmented by algorithm of repetition. I decided to make a project about that and to take this idea further to see the relationship between these simple patterns as they exist in the context of our present reality. The organic and particular comes into contact with the algorythmic and abstract. As they blend together over a timeline bound by a soundtrack, can we draw a line between the “old” and the “new”?

The idea is inspired by the ocean and by azulejos. I came to Porto almost 3 years ago and over this period it has become apparent to me that the connection with the sea is inseparable from this region’s traditions. The love of the sea is rooted deeply in people’s hearts here since for centuries the sea has provided the people of this region with its wealth of fish and other seafood and was the livelihood of many generations. Azulejos is another part of local culture which cannot be overlooked - the tiles which decorate facades of houses are ubiquitous throughout the region. When I began working with the visuals based on ocean videos, I noticed a resemblance of the azulejos patterns and decided to make a project connecting the two traits of Porto’s culture. While experimenting with the visuals I also kept in mind a theme of past and present, tradition and novelty - here I though of it as organic and digital in terms of visualization.

The idea of an interactive mediascape is arguably quite new - in fact, I came up with this definition to refer to the artistic expression form which is presented here. I still have to think through the particular aspects of a mediascape in more detail but overall I can say that it’s something of a 4 dimensional art object. The dimensions are the visual part, the audio part, the interactive part, and the overall shape of the experience. Each of these parts further carry a structure within themselves. At the end point when the interactive mediascape is presented all of these parts form a narrative in time and space while the participants help creating this narrative.

About The Project

I can’t help but notice that, although new technologies aim to entertain us and, at times, engage us in communication, they greatly inhibit physical interaction of human with another human. The interaction is either done Through the screen or With the screen and the human (even if he communicates with another human) is always left with the “interpretation” that a digital output provides (even if it is initiated by another human).

The idea for these live Interactive Happenings arises today because of the need to bring our focus back to human interaction in physical space. In Approximations, we see each other and hear each other, technology is there as a medium - like a ball in football.

My work is rooted in influence and inspiration by these people among others: CG Jung, Robert Saposlky, Margaret Boden, Robert Sternberg, Igor Stravinsky, Vassili Kandinsky, Neri Oxman, Olafur Eliasson, John Cage, Laurie Spiegel, Alfred N. Whitehead, Richard Shusterman, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jean-Michel Basquiat and A. Pushkin, of course!

Please forgive the simplicity of demo materials - life is short and time is limited and I have so much to do and to learn... I hope you can grasp the intrinsic experiential quality of the happenings from these videos and images. If you are interested in seeing/hearing more or want me to explain something, just email. The best is, of course, to try them out live! I will be happy to come to your event (interactive happenings are great for team-building activities) or class with a talk about proximity sensors technology and to bring one of these interactive happenings with me. I am working towards a master degree and this is part of my research.

Support my work

How you can support me: 1. Invite me for a demonstration and/or to talk about interactive happenings.

2. I am also a photographer, you can buy my prints, see the ones I am currently offering. 3. You can book a photoshoot with me, I love taking pictures. 4. You can make a donation if you want to support my research and creative work. Find out more >>

Thank you for visiting! If you're referencing my work please use #interactivehappenings #approximations hashtags.