Vestige
Three responsive installations by Jason Bruges Studio for the Leicester Performing Arts Centre, software by Chris O'Shea.
About
Vestige inhabits the theatre’s three main entrance vestibules. The artwork is a light based piece that projects narrow spots of colour changing light within the 3m cubed glass ‘portals’ to create a low resolution display.
Each vestibule scans passers-by to capture their silhouette and replays this as a shadow that echoes behind them. The silhouettes are replayed throughout the day, creating a ghostly presence. The frequency of people passing is monitored and this value sets the colour of the space.
The artwork is also linked to the theatre show times with a red colour to indicate a ‘five minutes to curtain up’ and green to indicate the exit at the end of the show.
The artwork explores the boundary across which people enter and exit the theatre and aims to create an auxiliary stage-space outside the theatre, showcasing the everyday performance of human movement.
Technical details
Custom software written by me in c++ using openFrameworks. A Thermitrack thermal imaging camera was used to detect the heat of people walking through. Control of the each light in the array was through DMX. During the set-up, each spotlight had to be targeted to a particular position within the grid on the surface, and calibration mode within the software helped with alignment.
As the doors automatically open, a door switch sends a message via the serial port to the software, the animation stops playing, the lights dim slightly and recording begins.
Each installation was linked to a central server, where silhouette animations are saved and shared, as well as syncing to the days theatre show times. The installations can also be configured on the central server through a web app, allowing control over colours, animation timings, power saving schedule and view people statistics.
Nov 2008
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