μgic
– installation
μgic invites the user to move different parts of the body to activate different sounds assigned to the different joints giving the player the potential of creating melodies and rhythms just by means of free body movements. The installation was developed during my MA in Design for Interactive Media at MDX University in 2010/2011.
Kinect recognises the skeleton of a user after a specific pose of identification is done in front of it, and sends OSC messages to Processing. The class implemented identify 24 joints of the human body and every movement created by 13 joints triggers a specific sound.
The installation aims to place the user in a kind of harmonic empathy within their body, the space around them, and their interaction with the machine. I considered stimulating play with contactless input devices, to ensure awareness in the perception process of the user, important in achieving certain tasks, and as an 'extreme' starting point towards designing a non-obtrusive interface that would have gone beyond the tangible as music does. The purpose was to enable people to loosen themselves in free body movements that would allow them to find an inner rhythm and coordination, which would eventually help them create interesting themes. I consider “μgic” as a device that could potentially form the basis for an approach that could support children's motor skills and social interactions. μgic could also be implemented choreographically in artistic performances such as dancing, for creating music and visuals in theatre.
μgic has been exhibited at Kinetica Artfair 2012 at Ambika P3 in London, UK.
