Interactive Installation
<Paradox Of Power>

Collab: Interactive Installation <The Power of Paradox> / 2023 Version Two
00:02:19
Woods, threads, Touchdesigner, Madmapper, etc
Collaborated with Binna Lee, selected as a finalist by Red Dot Design Award 2023.

Description

"The Power Paradox" an audio-reactive projection-mapped installation, is inspired by intoxicated powers that result in numerous conflicts.

In this project, we experimented with combining nature’s attestation of ideal power in mycelium networks with the imbalanced power around the world; women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, Iran protest for “Women, Life, Freedom,” child rights, China Covid lockdown protest, and the New School administration’s unfair treatments for Part-Time Faculty, etc. We could be seen as an example of this kind of power, as they involve cooperation and mutual support among individuals for the greater good of the network as a whole.

There are two versions of The Power Paradox in projection mapping. We use lines to create an intricate net of power dynamics. Through this work, we hope to evoke thoughts on central power and the power in the individual. We employ the work to oppose the traditional, top-down structure and hierarchy to strike a balance between the central and individual powers.
Power is “Distributed through the social networks and lies on empowering others.” - from the book <Paradox of Power> by Dacher Keltner

Motivation

One of the project inspirations is The New School TNS strike caused by the rapacious power of the school that treated the part-time professors brutally and unfairly and made us skeptical about institutions and governments and question what power is, what social connection and its influence in power. In contrast, Mycelium, the nature of power, demonstrates the ultimate power and how it affects individuals and society. It suggests that power can lead to a sense of entitlement and a focus on self-interest but that true power comes from empathy, cooperation, and a commitment to serving others.

Storyboard & Scenario

Spectators will walk into a dark room and around the installation. The physical wooden frame with string installation will be hung on to 2 m high from the ground. The project's visual effects are audio-reactive and image-instancing effects created by MadMapper.



The cascade light animations on strings are triggered by sounds sourced from video footage. The sound-reactive installation projection mapping is stimulated with the marching and protest audios of women's rights, LGBTQ parade, Iran protest, TNS Strike speech, and Lockdown rally in China.

Design Process

1. Material tests
At the beginning, we tested many kinds of materials and fabrics, and then we chose the right thickness of thread and cube to be the main material for the projection. Finally, a cube structure was built with balsa wood and thread that serves as the main projection surface dividnels area.

2. Prototype one



This is the first execution of The Power Paradox in projection mapping with TouchDesigner. In this version, we wanted to delineate the historical and social conflicts caused by central powers. Researching historical, social rights events against the imbalanced power, we broke down the characters into collections of lines to express the constraints of society and power on individuals. TouchDesigner instantiated images of human rights movements’ voices projected into the box with strings that implicate the individuals creating the power and on a piece of fabric as a backdrop.

3. Prototype two

We learned that a cube structure built with threads and balsa wood manifests our concept about the dynamics of homogeneity and heterogeneity in shape. The installation will be hung in a room, depicting depth and different perspectives as an analogy of heterogeneous voices that we have to listen to and embrace.

In this version, sounds is updated with an edited one that evokes abstract and metaphorical sounds of voices of everyone, and we use abstract forms to express the concentration and dispersion of power through the arrangement of light and dark lines. Power can be dispersed to the individual and eventually spread throughout the picture, expressing a rebellion and a yearning for freedom.

We recreated and organized the animation based on the projection on the lines. 





Final Effect