Day II Closing Session

Helena Gualinga

Claudia Robles – LEIKHĒN

Inspired by the composite plant of lichen (from Greek: leikhēn), which is the result of a hybrid partnership between a fungus and an alga. The installation is therefore a reflection upon the interaction and mutualistic relationship between two organisms, and how this union impacts on their behaviours inside a created audiovisual immersive space.

The installation consists basically of two types of participants: the central figure or host, sitting in the middle of the panoramic video space, whose brainwaves’ values are collected via a BCI interface in order to influence the sonic environment; the second type of participant is represented by the guest(s), visitors who, by touching the screens, influence the host’s emotional states through to the tactile transducers that are attached to the chair where the host is seated and consequently, also the audiovisual environment.

Created for and during an artist in residence at the Immersive Lab (IL) at ICST (Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology) Zurich.