INT2 | assignment 1

For Assignment 1, the interactive art I’d like to mention about is Cell, by James Alliban and Keiichi Matsuda, done in 2011.

Cell is an interactive installation which questions online identity. It was commissioned by the Alpha-Villa festival for its 2011 event. It was built using Openframeworks. Cell plays with and proposes alternative landscaped in the technological ether surrounding  our everyday movements.

how cell works
In Cell, identities become deliberately constructed and broadcast commodities, It’s projected personae increasingly enmesh and define us.
Cell acts as a virtual mirror, displaying a constructed fictional persona in place of our physical form. It is composed from keyword tags mined from online profiles. Our second selves stalk our movements through space, building in size and density over time. Resulting forms are alternate, technologically refracted manifestations of the body. This reveals the digital aura while allowing us to escape from the identity.
Cell detects whenever anyone enters the room. It assigns each person a random identity and avatar. The keyword tags are originally projected in a cloud on a wall. The tag will begin to attach themselves to your avatar. The tag ranges from a variety of words, e.g. golf buddies, cynical, love kids, hipster. The longer you stay, the more tags you accumulate.
why cell
I think that Cell is an interactive installation which address the current social issues. Today, many people are obsessed with the Internet and the information they post on social media, that they might seem to have a different online personality compared to physical, as they will only want to show the good side of themselves. It is a great example of using art and technology, and it shows explicitly how the usage of technology on a daily basis affects our emotional wellbeing. The exhibition shows a reflection of us towards social media and being exposing our true selves online.
references

http://www.jamesalliban.com/cell/
https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/pgzwkg/icelli-is-a-virtual-mirror-that-reflects-our-online-identities

Till then,
Flazéda!
jamz
x