Project Title : IFEELYOU
Intended Outcome (Objective) :
What I would like to achieve from ‘IFEELYOU’ is to see changes in human behavior when people interact with the ‘IFEELYOU’ series. It would be interesting to find out whether people will feel differently from what they always feel when they hear a person (could be a stranger or someone they know) talking, singing or projecting all sorts of sound waves from his or her mouth.
According to Antonio & Hanna Damasio, we spend a good part of our lives attending to the sights and sounds of the world outside of us, oblivious to the fact that we (mentally speaking) exist in our bodies, and that our bodies exist in our minds.
Should we feel what we should feel? Must we be annoyed by what is supposed we should be annoyed by when instead we can feel interested by?
I have always been curious by the metaphysics of the heart and the feelings it triggers off. There is no doubt man’s feelings are compromised by their concealed mental attitude. If what they see or hear is reinterpreted in a different form, would what they feel also then be different?
‘IFEELYOU’ can respond to themes and questions, such as: How do we use our bodies to construct our personal, cultural, gender, or spiritual identities? How does the body connect us to or separate us from others? How can artists use the body to create or express identity? How can artists explore the visual and visceral components of art and identity? Should we change the way we feel towards things? Should our feelings follow what is of the norm (for example, when someone talks loudly on the street, we feel annoyed instead of feeling interested.)?
Because ‘IFEELYOU’ requires the body as the site of installation, participants will experience a heightened awareness of their own and other’s bodies.
‘IFEELYOU’ is also created to stir up discussions between participants and onlookers. Examples of possible discussions could be:
- Is our society is becoming more transparent and locked down in terms of technology?
- Are humans crippled by the metaphysics of the heart and the feelings they have to portray?
- The theory of human consciousness.
- Does human-technology affects human-human interaction?
‘IFEELYOU’ enables the participants to experience the interactivity involved in their own unique ways. It creates personalization out of the participants in which different people may share different experiences and feelings.
On a less serious note, ‘IFEELYOU’ adds humor to our everyday life and how we perceive of things.
Target Audiences :
‘IFEELYOU’ is open to all who wishes to participate and anyone willing to share my love of human aesthetics and interactive art.
Project Description (How will you implement your project) :
‘IFEELYOU’ is a series of interactive wearables which whereby sound waves are reinterpreted in different forms. Because the ‘IFEELYOU’ series can be worn by the participant, it is not restricted to an exhibit space and can move freely across the city. This element allows me to create an exhibition that literally travels. ‘IFEELYOU’ emphasizes the mobile body as a focus of the art.
This series of mobile installation consists of three interactive wearables – a pair of leggings which have sound-activated LED lights, a t-shirt which have a sound-activated fan and a necklace with a sound-activated vibrating piezo buzzer. Each interactive wearable comes with a contact microphone whereby the participants have to attach to their clothing.
A visual abstract of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series // ONE.
The first of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series is a pair of leggings which has surface mount LEDs (also known as SMT) sewn onto it. What are used to sew the SMTs onto the leggings are conductive threads. A conductive thread conducts electricity and practically does everything a wire does except that it comes in the form of a fine thread. The SMTs will glow when sound waves are picked up from the contact microphone which is attached to the participant’s top. This creates an experience for participant and onlookers in which they may think the glowing SMTs as soothing visualizations and/or feel curious about what is making the SMTs to glow.
A visual abstract of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series // TWO.
The second of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series is a t-shirt with computer fan sewn onto its back. The fan will activate when sound waves are picked up from the contact microphone which is attached to the participant’s top. People who happen to be behind the participant will feel the wind that the fan is creating and may feel happy to experience this on a hot and sunny day. It will be interesting to find out if people would want to participant to keep talking so they can enjoy the wind. The t-shirt is machine-washable as the fan has backings which can be detached from the t-shirt.
A visual abstract of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series // THREE.
The third of the ‘IFEELYOU’ series is a necklace with a pendant that works as a vibrating piezo buzzer. The piezo buzzer will vibrate when sound waves are picked up from the contact microphone which is attached to the participant’s top. This gives a tickling effect in which the participant may enjoy or feel annoyed by it. It can be of great usage if the participant is in a library as this may prevent him or her from talking.
