ANDMirror

Feb 2007, Japan @ Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS)

This project was conceptualized and realized during my Fellowship at Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences in Japan.

ANDMirror is an interactive mirror that `reflects` my thoughts and ideas of my short stay in Japan during my Exchange Program in IAMAS (Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences). It combines the passive mirror image with the active, manipulated video image.

The constructed self-narrative scroll reveals itself with the presence of the viewer. And my memories get contained within the silhouette of the viewer along with their own reflection in the mirror. One has to find an appropriate spot within the space of the installation for the narrative scroll to move at a comfortable speed in order to grasp its contents.

ANDMirror from ramyah gowrishankar on Vimeo.

Exhibition:

IAMAS Graduation Exhibition 2007 @ Softopia, Gifu, Japan

Idea/Concept

We always carry questions in our head. Some get answered only to give rise to new ones and some remain unanswered. It is this need to ask questions and unravel the unknown does one find meaning, inspiration and direction.

Coming to Japan was one such experience for me. There were things that stood out for me in the otherwise natural environment that raised my curiosity and the need to get a deeper understanding of things.

I used the mirror as the metaphor of "self". The part which acts like the passive object that just reflects whatever is in front without any opinion of its own. A role of a silent observer. The reflected image is completed by the video image that is active. It has a view point, an author. It suggests, reacts, questions and reflects. When the passive and active responses are juxtaposed, it creates a strange experience of self -reflection.

I constructed small narratives of my reactions. They formed a sort of panoramic scroll that became the active video image revealed by the viewer. Ideas questions thoughts pass by you all the time. Every space, object or a person can become an idea for the observer. The narratives keep moving. The pace of the scroll is determined by the viewers` position within the installation space. The viewer has to find an appropriate place within the installation space to make an idea or make meaning of things that otherwise can slip by you.

How it works

The first layer is of the mirror that is scratched from the back in order to make it transparent in appropriate areas. This reveals the LCD monitor behind. A camera senses the presence of a viewer against a white wall. The silhouette of the viewer is then masked with an animation of the narrative scroll using jitter, which is played in the monitor, completing the mirror image.

Doing this project also helped me further sharpen my programming skills. It was also an interesting process to conceptualize and design a viewer interaction with the installation for effective communication.

Special Thanks to:

Andreas San

Akamatsu San

Saito San

and all the DSP students

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