record – LABS

Thesis Info

Keywords: Weather, mixed-reality, continuum, tangible interfaces, information representation, portal, phenomenology, now.

Abstract: 200-500 words: The capability of creating a continuum between the physical and virtual through media technology has implied a new relationship among the body, perception, space and time. The media installation Now and There - a Tangible Weather Channel explores architectural and phenomenological potentials and implications of this continuum. From an architectural perspective, the physical envelope has the tendency to evolve itself into a portal connecting our bodies with other tele-networked spaces and to liberate ourselves from the captivity of the physically-bound surroundings. From a phenomenological perspective, our perception of "now and here" might just as well be "now and there", in both temporal and spatial senses. By materializing weather dynamics on intimate sites to mediate what occurs in another place, Now and There - a Tangible Weather Channel encourages the participant to establish links with his or her experiential memories of a specific place and to create a sense of closeness to loved ones via touch and contemplation. Through constellations of light, water, air, sound, and computer graphics, the installation investigates the experiential and performative aspects of information representation, and interrelationship among material, meaning, memory and perception, while a set of poetic associations is triggered and is evocative in their own manner.