Tina Gonsalves – Chameleon at Fabrica
Today I went to see the work Chameleon by Tina Gonsalves. It was an interractive installation where faces on video screens supposedly register the mood of the viewer and change over time to mirror the emotional state of the viewing public.
When we walked in the atmosphere was serene with the screens suspended from above either alone or in couples. The screens shone from the dark and usually inviting arena of the Fabrica exhibition space which we now tentatively entered. Each had a dim spotlight in front where the viewer should stand to enable to monitors to register the presence of someone wishing to interact. Whilst I didn’t see much evidence of my emotions at the time reflected in the faces of the ‘people’, I did manage to make a man cry (for which I felt deeply sorry) and found myself looking over my shoulder. My abilities as a natural comic shone through when another seemed to laugh at me hysterically. This was a surreal experience to say the least.
This was a fun exhibition with a no doubt serious intention and a very interesting concept behind it. Unfortunately though I think the technology is just not there yet and I would like to see it reworked when Microsoft’s Project Natal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HluWsMlfj68&feature=related has enjoyed some success with facial recognition.
Here are some images I recorded from the exhibition. Unfortunately most of them were sleeping!
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