ThREE is a dance piece by the choreographer Stefanie Inhelder (Company glitch) and developed within the residency hosted by the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) and the Immersive Arts Space.
Abstract: Three generations ago, Switzerland colonized Indonesia. Not only the country, but also the”women”. As a descendant of colonial concubinage, the choreographer Stefanie Inhelder carries both sides within herself. The audience is invited to dive into the sea between the fronts. In this in-between space we fathom the paradoxes that our ancestors have left us. Five performers move into the present with a minimalist core. Arrived we let the clear lines flow in a liquid polyphony – a decolonization of the feminine connotated body. ThREE is an immersive piece, that embraces the audience with an octophonic soundscape and holographic visuals. Through motion capture technology, the dancers’ movements expand throughout the theater auditorium. ThREE invites the audience to let go of clear sight and sides to find ourselves in the space between.
Credits: Stefanie Inhelder – artistic director, choreography Javier Munoz Bravo – composition and live electronics Stella Speziali (IAS)- visuals Eric Larrieux (IAS) – motion capture Anna Heinimann – performing dancer Kuan-Ling Tsai – performing dancer Laetitia Kohler – performing dancer Pascale Altenburger – performing dancer Thea Soti – performing dancer Jiaxin Chen – dramaturgy Andreas Zangger – historical research Lena Schmid – scenography, costumes Daniel Tschanz – light design Camille Jamet – production
reconFIGURE in an ongoing research project and offers an insight into a re-imagination of our world, the human body and movement by AI. Do we lose control over our represenation? The project aims to discover and highlight the shift of our images and embodiement once they are captured via computer generated data.
reconFIGURE will be shown during this year`s Digital Art Zurich (DA-Z). Tickets can be purchased [here]. Entrance is free for ZHdK students and employees.
Opening hours: 25th to 29th October 2023 | 15:00-19:00 £ Immersive Arts Space (1.J30), entrance via film gate (Förrlibuckstrasse)
Possible worlds… is an augmented reality work developed by Oliver Sahli and Chris Salter that explores the 16th century philosopher Giordano Bruno’s proposition that the universe is infinite, animate and populated by innumerable other worlds. Using head-worn technology to blend the physical world with the computer world, the installation taps into the human fascination with creating meaning from patterns such as constellations of stars and planets.
Multiple visitors at a time wear head mounted displays, that allow the real physical environment to mix with animated visions of the cosmos beyond the physical space. At the beginning of the experience, the visitors are confronted with a ghostly apparition of Giordano Bruno created by motion capture that wanders through the observatory space speaking fragments of words from his 1540 treatise “On the Universe and Possible Worlds.” As the figure begins to vanish, the dome of the observatory is overlaid with a vast cosmological universe that the visitors then begin to travel through while lying on their backs. Speeding past stars and planets, asteroids and the still burning remnants of supernovas, the visitors eventually experience entering Gaia BH1, the closest dormant black hole to Earth which is only 1600 light years away but which suddenly becomes alive in the final moments of the work.
A newly formed collaboration between the Immersive Arts Space and Pro Helvetia South America was launched in 2023. Within this framework, artists form countries in South America get the chance to do a residency in Switzerland. During that time they have the opportunity to come to ZHdK and work and develop their projects within the Immersive Arts Space.
Joaquina Salgado is a media artist and VJ from Argentina and is currently in Switzerland doing her residency. Her multimedia studies at the Universidad de Artes de La Plata led her to present her work in diverse exhibition contexts such as digital art festivals, night clubs, physical galleries and the metaverse. She has exhibited at festivals such as Mutek and Mirage, and collaborated on projects with Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF). She is also part of Amplify DAI, an international network of women artists and curators working in the digital arts.
Her current project is called DERIVA. It is an audiovisual performance centered on the playing of cellist Violeta Garcia. With the help of motion capture, the music as well as the movements are transferred into a virtual world, which gives the audience new insights. The performance took place on April 28th 2023 in the Immersive Arts Space.
Changing Matters is a project that explores the concept of a playful and abstract virtual representation of oneself. This is achieved through the use of a camera that tracks the movements of the user and translates them onto an avatar. The virtual environment is further enhanced with sound that complements the user’s movements and empowers them with control. Therefore, experience encourages you to experiment with the possibilities of the virtual body’s interaction with the immersive sound and landscape.
The project utilizes SARMotion, a software developed by Florian Bruggisser, along with Unity data that is processed using Max/MSP and Ableton Live for sound generation.
Changing Matters is a graduation project by Lorenz Kleiser (BA Game Design) and Floris Demandt (MA Composition and Theory).
The project will be showcased and can be experienced at the upcoming conference REFRESH#5.
Abstract: Smartphones, tablets and computers do not work without the rare minerals used in their components and gold is one of these precious minerals. Those devices make use of gold as a chemically stable and exceptional conductor for their electronic circuits. About 7% of global gold is used for these technological purposes. Around 80% of the global labor force involved in gold mining is occupied in so-called artisanal or small-scale mining activities. That is a total of 45 million workers (30% women, 70% men) across 60 countries, mainly in the Southern hemisphere. Despite their significant contributions to major global mineral supply chains, artisanal and small-scale miners are some of the world’s most marginalized workers and their contribution to the global economy garners little attention. Artisanal mining activity typically takes place in rural areas without access to proper health infrastructure and lack of government support, such as Kamituga in Eastern Congo (DRC). It is estimated that at least 134 million people work in related industries that support artisanal and small-scale mining activities, including small-scale processing, buying and selling, but also restaurants and bars, shops, equipment, and transport facilities.
Kamituga | Digital Gold is a cooperation between the Immersive Arts Space and the Department of Geography, University of Zurich. www.digital-gold.ch
Planet Digital was a curated cooperation between the University of Zurich and Museum für Gestaltung Zürich and made possible by the Digitalization Initiative of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions DIZH and Stiftung Mercator Schweiz. The exhibition showcased 26 different segments on today`s artistic and scientific state of digitization. The exhibition took place from 11th February to 6th June 2022.
KAMITUGA | DIGITAL GOLD allowed the visitors insights behind the shiny surface of the mobile tech industry and invited the visitors to engage with the concrete challenges and living conditions of artisanal gold miners in the region of Kamituga (Democratic Republic of Congo). The starting point for all digitally-based experiences were the photographs, videos and 3D scans that PhD candidate Gabriel Kamundala recorded in Kamituga in the summer of 2021 using a latest-generation smartphone. In this way, a ubiquitous device, itself containing gold and rare minerals, provided insights into the living conditions of artisanal mine workers and, at the same time, drew attention to the many challenges of the mobile tech industry.
Visitors also encountered texts about the global context. With the help of QR codes, they could view supplementary information on their smartphones. Thus, awareness of both how our digitalized lives are dependent on rare minerals and of the problematic interrelation of supply chains in the mobile tech industry was promoted.
Credits: Chris Elvis Leisi: Interaction Design, 3D Experience Florian Christoph Bruggisser: Spatial Augmented Reality Engineer£ Mariana Vieira Gruenig: Scenography Alan Sahin: Video editing, storytelling Patrycja Pakiela: Sound design Alfred Borauzima: Additional on location audio recordings Alliance Riziki Murhula, Edward Wright: Translation, proofreading Shabnam Chamani, Rino Hosennen: Voice over Sébastien Schiesser: Chief Technician Kristina Jungic: Production Manager Christian Iseli: Project Lead
Zürich meets Berlin
Kamituga | Digital Gold in an adapted version was part of the Festival Zurich meets Berlin. From 3rd to 7th November 2022 projects from ETH, University of Zurich, ZHdK and ZHAW were displayed at the Museum für Naturkunde in the heart of Berlin!
Screenshot from the scan of a artisanal mine in Kamituga
Furthermore, a panel discussion with Gabriel Kamundala (PhD student, Department of Geography UZH) and Florian Bruggisser (Research Associate, ZHdK) hosted by Gayatri Parameswaran (KUSUNDA, NowHere Media) took place on Saturday, November 4th. During the panel the experts gave insights into the creation of the exhibition and try to give outlooks on what can be done to create a more sustainable, more transparent and social chain of trade and consumption.
Prague Quadrennial 2023
The Prague Quadrennial (PQ) is an international, renowned festival for scenography, design and art and in 2023 the Immersive Arts Space got the chance to represent Switzerland in the Student Exhibition (SE). For this occasion we transformed Kamituga | Digital Gold once more into an installation resembling a gold cube. The sculptural walk-through environment acts as a portal (with the help of giant QR codes) to an online interface that allows visitors to follow the concrete stages of gold extraction and its global entanglement with supply chains, from mines to mobile phones.
In this way, a ubiquitous device that itself contains gold and rare minerals provides an insight into the living conditions of artisanal miners, while drawing attention to the many challenges facing the mobile tech industry. The irony of digital gold as an enabler and inhibitor of global privilege is central to the project.
Credits: Chris Elvis Leisi: Interaction Design, 3D Experience/Immersive Arts Space Florian Christoph Bruggisser: Spatial Augmented Reality Engineer/Immersive Arts Space Christian Iseli: Website Integration Mariana Vieira Miguel Grünig: Scenography Dominik Fedier: Lead Technician Sergej Tratar-Baamonde: Head of Technical Production Kristina Jungic: Production Lead Chris Salter: Project Lead
Digital Gold VR
Recently, we have developed a virtual version of the original exhibition at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. Based on sophisticated scans of the exhibition segment at the museum a transformation from a real into a virtual exhibition was possible. Hereby VR users are able to walk through the exhibition and immerse into the volumetric scans of the mines in Kamituga.
Currently, Gabriel Kamundala is presenting the VR version in the DRC as well as Kamituga itself. By this, the main characters seen in the exhibition get the chance to see and experience we created for themselves.
Shifting Realities was an overarching interdisciplinary research project, that started in Spring 2021. The goal is to explore the interplay of real and virtual experiences as well as the interaction of VR-users and by-standing spectators in shared experiences. Combining these different perspectives creates scope for new practices and forms of expression in Extended Reality (XR).
The research is structured in four binary focus areas (or pair of opposites): • Virtual vs. augmented environments • Virtual vs. real spaces, objects or humans • Binaural vs. spatial audio • Storytelling vs. game mechanics
The research focuses at the interfaces defined by the pairs of opposites above. Through them, differences in perspective, shifts in perception, and the extent of interactivity can be shaped and controlled. The primary goal is the development of prototypical unique solutions in limited subareas.
In a first phase, basic concepts of reality shifts were explored and developed. They all depict situations, in which the users find themselves in transitional states between virtuality and reality. The aesthetics to create such transitional settings are defined by rough 3D scans, sketchy point clouds created in real time by depth cameras or the Oculus passthrough feature. The resulting imperfection of such low-end processes induces an awareness of our fluctuating and at times uncertain perception while experiencing mixed reality content.
In a second phase, three prototypical experiences were developed. Two are device-based with mixed reality components displayed in VR goggles: • PASSING THROUGH THE REAL and • FRAGMENTS OF REALITY.
One is installation-based with spatial augmented reality contingent on projection mapping: • FRAGMENTS OF A CONVERSATION (watch video).
For the first time, the three experiences were presented in preliminary versions at the LabInsights in June 2022.
Team: Researchers: Florian Bruggisser, Martin Fröhlich, Valentin Huber, Norbert Kottmann, Eric Larrieux, Chris Elvis Leisi, Oliver Sahli, Stella Speziali. Production manager: Kristina Jungic; Chief Technician: Sébastien Schiesser. Principal Investigator: Prof. Christian Iseli
Power and Presence explores meaningful and empowering interaction in virtual reality and how it can be implemented as game mechanics without breaking the feeling of being in another world. A critical analysis of game design theories and how they need to be applied to VR is demonstrated through a game that uses phonetic interaction.
Oliver Sahli, research associate at the Immersive Arts Space and graduation student in Master in Game Design, showcased his project Power and Presend within the diploma exhibition of the ZHdK in June 2021.
Diploma project, MA Game Design, by Chris Elivis Leisi
In today’s VR games, the body often serves as the controller. However, when the player enters the virtual world, the connection to the physical environment is often lost. This master’s thesis deals with immersion mechanics in VR and reveals the potentials that arise when one’s own home can be integrated into the virtual world as a play area.
Chris Elvis Leisi, research associate in the Immersive Arts Space and graduate student in Master in Game Design, exhibited his graduation project Virtual Real World within the diploma exhibition of the ZHdK in June 2021.
The Helium Drone project seeks to explore the aesthetic properties of installations based on floating devices that can autonomously navigate in space. In its complete state it will be a flocking swarm of diverse drones in different forms and shapes, each behaving in its individual way and interact with each other and the spectators on the ground. It will use the tracking system for location and navigation and the projection mapping system to wrap them into dynamically created ‘skins’.
A technological groundwork is laid out, with the goal to design a framework to quickly prototype and build helium drones with different shapes and propulsion concepts that integrate easily with the current technical setup of the IASpace. This involves the research for suitable materials and processes to build the floating volume, design of mechanical structures, electronics and network protocols, the evaluation and testing of motor and servos and the integration of motion and sensor data for autonomous flying capabilities (among many other things).
Involving many different skills, from designing and building physical structures to programming behaviors and creating interactive textures that are projected onto the creatures, it will be attractive to a wide spectrum of disciplines and a playground to experience multidisciplinary teamwork. There will also be an open source toolkit with instructions that can be made accessible to the public.
