Inspirational biomimetic artwork

I was so interested recently when I heard about Diana Eng, a fashion designer from New York City. She is a self proclaimed ‘fashion geek’ due to her love of fashion and textiles but also because she loves ‘geeky’ computer programming and technology. I love that she embraces the idea of being a geek and uses her interest in both fields to create some amazing and innovative things.

Diana Eng came to Auckland last month to be a part of AUT’s Colab Summer Workshop Series. The workshops allowed Diana to share her ideas with other creative people and inspire them to use new technology. It seems with her collections that she is interested in biomimicry, as I am with my own project. Biomimicry essentially means the imitation of life. For example, look at Eng’s collapsible structures which mimic the pleat pattern structure of a leaf when it blooms.

Watch this Campbell Live item which looks at Eng’s use of conductive thread in her clothing. The clothing also has sensing capabilities. For example, the electro luminescent wire used in a garment lights up and responds to the sound of talking. A skirt lights up when the wearer is walking.  It is amazing to see clothing that is sensing the environment around it and responding to it.  These garments are an example of smart clothing.  Another innovative item Diana Eng actually sells is a smart scarf, called the Jack Frost Scarf.  The images of snowflakes develop and become larger when the scarf is exposed to cold temperatures.  I remember hyper coloured t shirts from my childhood which seemed to work in reverse.  The fabric changed colour when exposed to heat.  I loved pressing my warm handprints to the fabric and making other patterns with hot breath or by standing in the sun.  They weren't so great though if you had hot underarms!

Eng comments that these items cannot be washed so they fail to meet some requirements we need in our everyday clothing. But that hardly matters. The items are wearable and function to cover the body in a fashionable and innovative way. Are they items of clothing or works of art?

It is inspiring to see another artist/designer collaborating with experts in fields different from their own. We can see what is possible when we come together from different fields and investigate how to combine them.

Right now, my project is really accelerating. I have successfully completed a large artwork (roughly 700 x 700mm). The artwork looks great and I am looking forward to actuating all the elements as soon as possible. I will post some video of the movements once they are working. For now, I have some photos of the static work. I hope you like it.

The artwork viewed from a short distance.  The display box is visible to see how the frames are put together.

Close up of the artwork. The artwork is jigsaw puzzle of different frames put together to create the image.

Testing the sensor!

Just before we stopped for the Christmas break, the team got together to test for the first time the camera and sensor for our interactive artwork. We set up all the necessary stuff in the workshop and we had a good play around with the camera to see how it worked.

So far, so good. The guys have done an amazing job. So far, the camera can see a person approach. It can sense when someone is far away or close. You can see in the video clips that the movement of a person near then far, turns the actuator on and off.

We did our first test on “The Pond”, a previous artwork because we know that it actuates already. We connected only one of the elements to the power, so only the shape on the right hand side is actuating.

Eventually, we will develop this concept so that the artwork is constantly actuating. It will actuate faster or slower depending on where the viewer moves in the room. If the person comes close, we can make the artwork actuate quickly. If they move away, the artwork will actuate more slowly. This is all part of how the audience reacts to the work, and how the work reacts to the audience. This will make the artwork very interesting to interact with. Essentially the artwork is ‘alive’ and responsive to the energy of the people around it.