Priscilla Bracks, Gavin Sade and Matt Dwyer - Charmed, Tangible Virtual Life Simulation 2007

The touch sensitive screens of Charmed offer intimate views into a virtual world accessed via three glowing resin pods. Each pod provides an entry point to inhabitants of suburban neighbourhoods, apartment buildings and city spaces. Within these highly evolved snow domes, a black and white linear aesthetic depicts a world populated by mesmerized figures carrying out the routine tasks required of their environments. Haptic gestures, like touching or tapping, provide a pathway into the spaces and a connection with the cultures, uncovering the diminutive details of the lives of these animated figures. Touching the screen can break the spell and provoke change. Repeated tapping can cause chaos, disrupting lives, forcing computers to malfunction and causing traffic accidents. Tapping can impact inhabitants, even causing a man to drink so much that the inevitable happens and he wets his pants. In Charmed each portal offers an impression of omnipotence as private lives and public spaces are exposed and controlled by our touch.
Footage recorded by Gavin Sade and Priscilla Bracks at ISEA 2008
More info: http://kuuki.com.au/projects/charmed/description

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• interactive
• art
• virtual
• reality
• pod
• tangible
• touch
• interface
• life
• simulation