Beyond the Cockroach!!

It was interesting hearing more about some of the other's Cockroach experiments. Much of the work we have done during process has related to sensory perception and the way in which external surroundings condition experience. I like also this idea with the cockroach that our experience is also impacted on by our own physical / emotional / intellectual strengths and weaknesses, abilities and inabilities.
The cockroach experiment/ performance by myself and Patricia explored how possible benefits of future mutation would also have drawbacks and could change the way we interact with and perceive the world around us. This could definitely be an interesting starting point for further experiments and crossovers within the group and possibly something that could be introduced during the exhibition encouraging public interaction and exploration of self and surroundings.
William :)

Mini brief two completed

I transformed the hairdryer into a portable speaker. It had similar features in the respect to a speaker cabinet had a grid and a lead coming out of it. But the speaker cabinets are often dull, square and predictable. This functions well and has immediate visual impact. I could improve it if I knew a little more about electronics. But it works well enough to pass as Hairdryer Speaker Version One.

paul postle

Brief_ willian

Examine the way space or spaces within the University are used and building upon ideas generated during "Observations", "Systems and "Workshop", propose a series of interventions to stimulate thought and alter the way people interact within this given environment.

Consider how people can be encouraged to feel more positive about the spaces they use.

The aim of the interventions should be to bring a sense of playfulness, fun and delight, to stimulate the senses: to make the normal special.

Identify key areas within the building.

Consider the various functions within a particular space or series of spaces including social, work, relaxation, movement around the building etc.

How do these spaces operate? Map out positive and negative factors for each.

Develop a series of physical responses for display within the University during the exhibition week.

Use full scale samples to test out ideas and document the different ways in which people respond to them.

Marianthi briefs

SPACE INVADER

Having worked on the idea of natural formed nests and the way people, movement and materials are combined to create new bodyscapes and landscapes we were interested in creating an artificial environment that also offered the sensation an organic nest offers. What’s the inside and which is the outside? From one moment to the next, the way you perceive reality is automatically altered. The real environment is left aside for some moments and time and space have no longer their usual significance. I’d like to experiment with parallel spaces, space within the space in which a new experience is offered.

MATERIAL PATH

The construction of a nest using branches, extracted from their natural environment and put in different shapes in an interior space had a particular interest. What seems evident in a natural structure becomes a totally new material when formed in an artificial way. The imperfections that might come up when branches are linked together are actually its main point of attraction. Within the same material you can discover different behaviors and the material itself leads you somehow in the ways to be used. Different materials, different ways to be combined, new forms to be created.

Light as material 2

this time Im using strobe torch to freeze movement in time sequence, create a lot of object from single object

Light as a material

Noviardi : in this experiment I try to use light as a 'paint' to paint on the air medium, Its a light painting technique with slow shutter speed.

the interesting part is where you can actually see of what you draw until it shows on camera. so you have to remember of where is your start point, and where to draw the line and how to make a shape.

even my body are not shown on the camera.

experiement- kaleidoscope

[definition]The word "kaleidoscope" is based on three words from ancient Greek; "Kalos" meaning beautiful, "Eidos" meaning form and "Scopos" meaning watcher. So a Kaleidoscope is a " beautiful form watcher".

Wondering how easily our vision could be manipulated by the way objects are showcasing, I made this kaleidoscope. On the end of the object are simply colourful plastic parts. But through the reflection of mirror and the motion we made, something normal become glittery. And I start to think how often we are cheated by our eyes in everyday life. Also, what if I put some objects with both visionary and odorant features, for example, spice, can we be more objective when "observing" what we see?
Moreover, besides kaleidoscope, with what kind of device I can convert people's feeling with different kinds of sensory sitimulation?

material test of nest

The method of making nests could be repeated with different materials.I tried to shape the form by using inelastic/elastic yarns and fishing wire, and fould interesting results in each experiement. What shape should a nest be? If the intensity of the materials control only the strength of the structure? How about the leakage of information from inner space of the nest? Does it infleunce the way we perceive the object or even space?

ying

Noviardi mini brief

experimenting how light as material can be apply in an object...

how light react with another material..

how light react with another object..

how shadow can be a beautiful object rather than only a side effect of light..

ying brief 2

Sensational contradiction

Brick Lane is a place with overwhelming information, where people become too numb to give a second think of it and let partial sense domains everything. However, sense is sometimes very superficial which cannot lead us to the essence of life. We rely too much on simply vision or touch of hand, whereas objects or phenomena are often comprised more complicated elements than we notice. To get rid of the “blind” reliance, I want to start by creating little turmoil of our sensational understanding.

ying brief 1

Sense Convertor

Inspired by the variation and unpredictability of Brick Lane, I started to think about making a device that can present the complexity of normal life we experience every day. Through connecting and manipulating sensational stimulations, users may experience the world in a totally different way. For example, a device which encourages users to observe objects without using vision as first approach might be a solution. It might be very interesting if colour and shape of objects can be recognized by touching, smelling, sound, or the combination.

COCKROACH WORKSHOP

In the one day workshop we looked at life from a different

viewpoint. The idea was to explore disaster scenarios and

since Cockroaches are the most likely creatures to survive,

it’s makes sense to think like one.

To our group we decided to concentrate on their senses.

We looked at how they moved using smell, sight, sound & their

preferred environments. It’s a commonly known fact that

if you loose one of your senses another becomes enhanced

or improved. Again, we know that once you loose your

sight or are plunged into darkness you usually take smaller

steps and without thinking your instinct is to raise your

hands and use them to feel your way around. Taking these

facts into consideration we set to work.

Each team member worked on a set of eyewear that altered

your vision and reduced your sense of the known environment.

I noticed that when you walk towards a light source and

it hits the back of your retina you become unstable. I also

researched the eyes ability to distinguish colour and found

that we are very good at recognising various green objects.

Yet not so able to seperate a range of reds. I assume this

is because there are many greens in nature and reds are

primarily a warning colour. With this I put red gels inside the

eyewear and a layer of bubble wrap to break down the

visabilty to a greater degree.

Once placed into a confined area and listening to white

noise via a set of head phones the sensation was quite

effective. You lost sense of scale and became disorientated.

The lose of ambient room noise helped this sensation, and

whilst the white noise was unpleasant it did simulate the

electrical noise that cockroaches that live under appliances

would possibly experience.

With clear purpose and effective teamwork we had an enjoyable

workshop that really made the concept of group work attractive.

Paul Postle