Soma-surface

Full description

BACKGROUND:The Soma-surface is a modular system of 6 pressure sensitive aluminium plates each with a custom designed and fabricated sensor electronics contained within the plate construction. Feltham was responsible for the creative direction, project management and technical implementation of the project as installed and exhibited at Musify + Gamify at VIVID Sydney. When we stand or walk our bodies are in a constant "game" of cheating gravity to remain standing or moving. This shifting of weight, when measured by sensored surfaces and captured as digital data, reveals subtle but wonderful patterns and rhythms that are ripe for musification. Soma-surface focuses on the body's capacity to regulate balance through moving by musifying these movements. CONTRIBUTION: Soma-surface addresses the technical challenges, that were determined in earlier studies, of sensing the variance in the full body force of a person walking over its surface. The aim technically was to generate data at a resolution to be satisfactory for the modulation of real time digital sound. The aesthetic challenge for this work was to create a palette of sounds that were pleasurable as well as containing enough change in texture and tone to represent footsteps and variation of balance from the left to right leg. The research extends Feltham's ongoing research on walking and somatics in HCI by developing understandings of creative self-awareness of walking and moving on interactive surfaces and spaces through mediated sound information or sonification. SIGNIFICANCE: Feltham received funding from the University of Western Sydney, and was invited by curators Ollie Brown and Lian Loke to develop and present the work as the installation 'Jamming Gravity #1' at Musify + Gamify (supported by Australia Council). It was part of VIVID Sydney - an annual international event of technologically-mediated creative works - and was reviewed in the AU Review and Summersite.