A Cognachrome computer, normally used as a vision system by military robots to catch balls, is trained by customised Arc software to recognise certain colours, shapes and materials - red apples and items of clothing - and their motions through an installation space. The Cognachrome and a camera are then connected to a Macintosh, where the Unstill Life application processes apple/visitor coordinates.
Animations of a woman's digital portrait are triggered according to how the current visitor/apple motions and database of previous interactions are interpreted by the Unstill Life application.
Fed a continuous datastream from the optical recognition system, the portrait observes and responds to her visitors in various ways. If a visitor eats the apple, the portrait alters and gains digital weight, in proportion to the number of bites taken; if the visitor abstains, the portrait alters in other ways and eventually vanishes; and if the portrait receives insufficient attention (time spent, apple interactions) over an installation time of several months, animation frames are deleted and the portrait gradually decays, though its rudimentary awareness lingers. Mediated by machinic eyes, the visitor, apple and portrait exist in a metabolic triangle of exchange.
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Interface/Installation/Graphics: Mari Velonaki
Interface/Graphics/Software: Gary Zebington
Exhibited at
2000 Sydney Biennale
2003 College of Fine Arts, UNSW
Science Partners
Newton Research Labs, USA
Integrated Circuit Department of Cochlear Ltd
