shoreline equivalent, 2009 (D|MA MFA 2009 thesis exhibition)
light, space and 2 viewers, 17’8” w x 18’9” d x 10’ h

shoreline equivalent is an interactive 4d+ audio-visual equivalent that attempts to translate observations of the dynamic, cumulative and emergent nature of sand patterns at the beach into a gallery space. the goal of this work is to explore the way people look at and think about natural spaces, and to encourage viewers to be more aware of their direct and indirect influences on the fluid nature of their surroundings.

this installation is composed of four spaces: the software-based virtual environment, the physical gallery space and hardware, the social environment of the viewer, and time. the software based virtual environment is built on a qualitative system that renders its visuals according to spatial and quantitative values in the natural space. viewers actions in the physical space, and the natural movement of the software, drive the motion of the virtual system. the virtual system is projected into the gallery space, which results in a feedback loop between the movement of the virtual and the viewers? actions in the physical space.

the interactivity of the system allows for the visualization of the effects of human activity and randomness within natural spaces. it was built for two users so that viewer could make observations of both the natural space and another person's interaction with it. this allows the viewers to see both the more obvious direct effects of their actions along with some of the more subtle effects of the space.

processing was used to develop the program, and the software utilized the msafluid library by msa visuals ltd (http://memo.tv/msafluid_for_processing) and opencv library for computer vision by atelier hypermedia (http://ubaa.net/shared/processing/opencv/). hardware included a computer, projector, an infrared led light, and a web camera hacked to view the infrared spectrum.

committee members
Victoria Vesna, UCLA (Chair) / Willem Henri Lucas, UCLA / Thom Mayne, UCLA+Morphosis / Joanne Heyler, Broad Art Foundation / davidkremers, Caltech

sponsors
The John Neuhart Scholarship and Avi Engel
IASPIS - International Artists Studio Program in Sweden

thanks to
Jennifer Steinkamp, UCLA / Chandler McWilliams, UCLA / Mark Hansen, UCLA / Ben Toam and Hugo Martinez, Morphosis Architects / Martin Avila + Ramia Maze, Konstfack and Interactive Institute, Stockholm / Steven Schkolne / Trudy van Riemsdijk-Zandee / Family and Friends and especially to my wife, Molly