Introduction
13 Eyes is an interactive installation that dynamically assembles monumental portraits of visitors by fusing together fragments of their faces. The resulting triptych conjures up imaginary beings at the intersection of familiarity and alterity. By sharing the microsocial space of the installation, (v)users’ self-representations blur with others in an uncanny fashion. Thus, the installation is an invitation to discuss the mediation of our self-image by technology, by society and by our own vanity and fear.
The installation itself is a sculptural assembly of 13 obsolete, but fully working, iPhones. The devices are controlled by a hidden master charged with surreptitiously taking pictures, remotely manipulating them, and displaying the results. By invoking the ubiquity and cultural significance of the iPhone, the installation questions our relation to status and obsolescence, but also to surveillance and self-representation.
The installation is meant to be installed at the center of a dimly lit room. Visitors who come close to the interactive installation have their picture taken. The pictures are then sent to a master apparatus that builds a 3D model of the face. Parts of different 3D models are blended together to create new facial representations merging several individuals. This mimics the various approaches used by biosurveillance systems to gather ever more tracking information about everyone. However, in this case, instead of building a precise data model of citizens, the installation merges identities and poetically decouples the relation between faciality and identity.
13 Eyes is the first installation of an upcoming series title Égobsolescence.
Video Presentation
Technical Requirements
The technical rider should answer most questions regarding the physical and technical needs for this installation. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, I try to address the most common question I get about this project (process, hardware, software, etc.).
Whose eyes are displayed on the iPhones?
The eyes that are displayed on the iPhones’ screens have been gathered through an online process open to anyone (I invited people to participate via social media). If you want to contribute an eye, just go to ego.djip.co on your mobile device.
What software drives the project?
The application that runs on the iPhone is a custom creation rolled out with Apache Cordova. The central control application has been written in JavaScript and is being run with NW.js. The phones are controlled over WebSokets with OSC-formatted commands. TouchDesigner is used for the final visual and surface processing.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Conseil des arts de Longueuil whose funding and support helped make this project a reality.
