Category: Research

Symbiotic Skin is an interactive experiential work that asks audiences to consider a future where humankind can no longer breathe independently, having adapted to this evolutionary shift by forming lifelong bonds with creatures entitled ‘symbiotes’. This previously unknown species attach themselves to the human body across the chest, creating a symbiotic bond allowing both human and creature to breathe as one.

In Symbiotic Skin, audiences are presented with an opportunity to experience this speculative future, by coupling with a creature and taking a mediated walk through a green space. The creature extends across an individual’s body and facilitates exploration of the environment through subtle vibrations and illumination, which permeate from the creature.

This work seeks to draw attention to current and ongoing sustainability issues, as well as providing audiences with a unique lens in which to view and interact with natural environments.

This project is a collaboration with Michael Smith

Planets was also made possible by the partnership between QUT Creative Industries (Brisbane, Australia) and Ars Electronica Futurelab (Linz, Austria).

Planets is a participatory, performance-based interactive artwork, which explores connections between people, places and objects. The work comprises of 30 interactive orbs, designed to respond via proximity to a central ‘master orb’, which is held by a contemporary dance performer while they move through a large crowd. Planets was designed to appropriate and activate event crowds and debuted within a crowd of over 1500 patrons at the 2014 Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria.

This work responded to the challenge of repurposing technology designed for a singular function and reimagining it in new and exciting ways. The technology in question, the Linzerschnitte microcontroller, is a low-cost FM receiver that can output a small current to control small electronic applications. The Linzerschnitte is at the technical heart of this project as it facilitates the relationship between performer and audience.

While Planets functions independently as a performative work, it is also the result of a pratice-based research project. This research investigated the concept of ‘exclusive experiences’ within interactive artworks, which can be understood as experiences that are transient, ephemeral and independent to a moment in time.