Reveal / Reset
Inspace
Crichton Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9AB
5th August to 5th September 2009, Wed-Sun, 10am-6pm.
Reveal / Reset was an exhibition hosted by New Media Scotland showcasing a selection of 08|09 Alt-w award recipients.
For it's part of the exhibition, project2891 offered up a vertical adaptation of the swing-arms first presented in the "Hello World!" exhibition earlier in the year.
This time around, the relationship between the representation of nodes in the software, and the actual physical arrangement of the installation was switched around a bit. In previous installations, a complete swing-arm assembly (fans, sensors, lamps) was included in a node. For Reveal / Reset, each group of sensors, motors and lamps were their own node. The swing-arms acted as intermediary between the fans, (node 110) and the sensors(node 111).
An iPod / Android compatible video of the installation is also available for download (21.8 MB).
Elsewhere on the web:
- The Reveal / Reset photoset on Flickr has all the images on this page available for download in higher resolutions.
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- New Media Scotland put together a video where Ben explains what the installation is doing.
- New Media Scotland's webpage for the exhibition.
An array of three computer case fans was placed on each side at the bottom of the fins. Each fan array was a component in node 110.
As the fans turned on / off, the resulting breeze pushed against the sails at the bottom of each swingarm.
A reed switch (which completes a circuit when subjected to a magnetic field) was positioned on each side at the top of each glass plane. The switches acted as components for node 111. A small rare-earth magnet was attached at the top of each swingarm. As the swingarms moved, the magnets passed underneath the reed switches and triggered the sensors.
The whole system was controlled by a trio of Arduino's connected to a laptop running Pure Data and Python. One Arduino for each node.
The swing-arms were balanced on sets of wooden arms held perpendicularly to the panes of glass. The lamps for node 112 were held in tension between the crossbars. As the installation communicated with the switchboard, the lamps would flash the messages sent and received in International Morse Code.
A more detailed view of the wiring of the Arduinos and breadboard. The intention was to give the terminus of all the wires a more 'organic' appearence.
Each pane of glass had a swing-arm assembly mounted on either side it. When viewed from the side, this emphasised the relationship of movement between the swing-arms.
On the upper level of the gallery, the floor is level with the bottom of the windows. As visitors to the gallery made their way to the upper level, they could walk right up to the swing-arms and fan assemblies.
On the lower level of the gallery, the bottom of the windows is about chest-height. This image shows how the installation met viewers as they entered the front door of the gallery.
A closer view of the installation from outside the gallery. The nodes were active twenty-four hours a day for the duration of the exhibition. The flashing lights were visible through the gallery windows as pedestrians and cars would pass by.