Project 3 - Exhibition Design Concepts

Concept 1: Illusions –

Fan-folded paper/cardboard along the walls, or alternatively, above each work with animated shapes or characters projected onto one/each side. Each character is a disjointed and an abstract image that comes together to create a full, clear image as the viewer comes closer to that particular work, and becomes disjointed again as the viewer walks away from the work.

The characters could be anything that represents the particular work or the student who made it (e.g. an animated creature), or can alternatively be something in a series of images that, together with the other projections on other student’s works (say, when viewed from left to right) can spell out some sort of secret code. In this way, the work could be a kind of puzzle that offers the keen observer with a nice little surprise.

The exhibition space could either be otherwise lit or could be dark. Both will create a different mood.

Projections will come from above viewer level, so that activity in the room will not obstruct the projections.

Concept 2: A night sky –

The exhibition space will be like a starry night’s sky. Flickering and animated stars will be reflected off the walls and ceiling and the ground will look like a cloud (or maybe a series of clouds which form a path around the space to each student’s work). The ground could be a projection of a cloud, and could include the smoke from a smoke machine – although this might interfere with the clarity of student’s work unless it can be controlled and kept low to the ground. Alternatively the ground could be left blank and black, which will give the viewer the impression that they are walking on air. The rest of the exhibition space will be pitch black so that the size of the space is unclear and the stars and space seem to stretch on forever.

Beams of light will be projected across the room and will point to each student’s work (these projections could be moons or planets).

This concept is inspired by UVA’s “Speed of Light” installation in which beams of light are projected across the room. These could act as pointers that would guide visitors to the various works around the room while giving the impression of being in space amongst stars. The beams could be interpreted as being stars that are close to the viewer and the stars on the surfaces of the exhibition space would be the stars that are further away from the viewer.

There could either be a lot of stars reflected on the walls/roof of the space, or very little, with shooting stars only crossing the area occasionally and the majority of the space left black. The beams of light could also flicker to give the impression of stars flickering.

Books in the exhibition could be lit by a beam, but this will not flicker so as to not obstruct readability.

Concept 3: Light path –

This concept has a variety of solutions.

Animated light in the form of lines, shapes, patterns etc. perhaps with a colour or a changing colour could be projected onto the floor and walls of the exhibition space. These projections can either stay the same or can change over time.

These projections would trace the path to and around the student works being exhibited. Like a game of Snake, the projections would be bright at its ‘head’ and would leave a trail of light, which would begin to fade, so that the position of the ‘head’ is always clear, but the path never completely gone before it is retraced.

The projections on the floor and walls would match up (for example, if there is a box in the middle of the floor, the ‘beam’ crossing the side of the box will be projected from the side but will be seamlessly matched up to the ‘beam’ crossing the top of the box, which would be projected from the top. This will bring the beam to life as though it is really crossing these surfaces. This also gives some option of putting other objects in the exhibition space.

This concept is inspired by the HKS installation called “Blink”, where the beams of light projected onto the floor and walls of the exhibition space match up with each other to create a sense of continuity.

This concept could mean a number of things or be interpreted in a number of ways. Firstly, it could be like an animated path to the student works – similar to the paths of light that are used in some video games to show the player the way to the next objective. Secondly, it could be like a game of Snake and perhaps this beam of light could in fact be eating an object (another projection above student works which will appear from time to time) and could make the ‘snake’/beam grow or change in some way as they are encountered. Thirdly, it could be seen as a continuous electrical pulse that is shooting around the room.

Concept 4: Beast –

Expanding on the previous idea of a “light path” in which the projections from around the room match up to each other to create a continuous animation, I have come up with the following possible solution:

• The exhibition space is home to an invisible beast. This beast walks around the perimeter of the space in a continuous cycle and its shadow is projected across the walls.

• A trail of light and pattern can also be projected onto the floor of the space alongside the shadow. These projections could be the beast’s footprints, or a spreading pattern etc. and can create a path for visitors to follow around the space.

• The beast will be continuously circling the exhibition space, climbing over student works as though there is a platform above it so as not to obstruct it.

• These projections will create a sense of mysteriousness and eeriness in the exhibition space with an unseen but clearly large and possibly dangerous presence.

• Somewhere in the exhibition space, visitors will have access to a machine (this will simply be a computer or a laptop with a custom built cardboard case and custom buttons and could perhaps be placed at the entrance of the space.).

• These buttons can be pressed and will make the creature act in a particular way – perhaps triggering different emotions which could in turn change the way that the beast looks/behaves or could change the exhibition space with additional projections to create a specific mood.

• Each button would do something different and perhaps there is one button for each student’s work that could in some way describe an aspect of that work or the particular student who created it - or perhaps a particular emotion could simply be assigned to the student.

• For example, one button might make the beast angry. The beast could in this case increase in size, breathe fire (this could be a red light projection?), have horns grow or could morph in some way, could increase its pace… its footsteps could create projected “cracks” in the floor projection etc. The space could have a red light projected across it and perhaps this red light could flash like a siren.

• In this way, the concept also explores the effect of different colours and symbols on people’s emotional state.

• Button presses which trigger an emotional state in the beast could last for only one circling of the room after which the beast could return its normal self.

• The beast's habitat could also be projected across the walls of the space - e.g. a jungle, a rocky landscape etc. so that the exhibition space doesn't seem to empty.

The issue here is to still have a seamless, continuous animation across the exhibition space when the buttons are pressed, so that the creature doesn't suddenly disappear and return to the start of the track with the changed emotional state.

A solution here could be to split the track into two halves or perhaps four quarters so that when a person presses a button, the next time the beast crosses from one track to another, it will change its state.