Tree of Voices
Project name : Tree Of Voices
Position : Research Assitant
Workplace : AI Media Lab, Art&Technology Department, Sogang University
Residency : Creators in Lab : Art & Science, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea
Category : Immersive experience, multimedia installation
Timeline : 6 months creation, 2 weeks exhibition
Skills : Experience design, sound design, prototyping, hardware & software testing, project management, soldering, wiring
Concept
This media art installation is inspired by James Cameron's Tree of Voices in the movie Avatar, and means to help us reconnect with nature, even in the busy life of the city. You can enter the tree and be part of nature for a few mintues as the branches glow in the dark and there are no distractions.
Tree of Voice - Jung Moon Ryul - ACC, Gwangju, South Korea (2019).
Creators in Lab presentation video (ACC)
How it works
300+ PixieLEDs connected to each other with around 10 microcontrollers (Arduino) with the help of batteries and wires. The LEDs are placed on a fake ceiling, 5 meters high, that also holds microncontrollers, wires, a mini PC and speakers. Each LED comes through the fake ceiling through a 3D printed cap, that also holds a pack of fiber optic cables, cut at different lengths to create a branches.
Colors can change with user input, or by themselves according to an algorithm developed in Unity or directly in Arduino.
Sound was recorded in forests close to Seoul, and mixed with more ambient sounds in Ableton Live.
Tools I used
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3W Pixie LED - Adafruit
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Arduino Mega and Arduino Uno, Arduino software
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Fiber optic cable
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3D printer
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Ableton Live, Tascam recorder, ROLI Seaboard block, audio interface, speakers
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Batteries, cables, and soldering irons
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OpenBCI (testing only)
Exhibition: Embroidered on Memory, Sehwa Museum, Seoul, South Korea
Timeline: 1 month creation, 5 months exhibition
Embroidered on Memory - Exhibition presentation
After great success in Gwangju, we brought Tree of Voices to new places, and adapted its form to a new space, adding mirrors for more depth.
Embroidered on Memory - Making 'Tree of Voices'
Exhibition : Towards Meta Garden, 9th Gwangju Design Biennale, Gwangju Museum of Art
Timeline : 5 months exhibition
Towards Meta Garden - Exhibition teaser
Towards Meta Garden - Online exhibition
Exhibition : Digital Media Species, 25th Seoul International Cartoons & Animation Festival, Mapo Oil Tank Culture Park.
Timeline : 2 weeks, 3 day festival
As this space had a lot of natural light coming in, we switched the mirrors for curtains as fiber optic glows best in the dark, to keep our experience immersive.
Installation at the Mapo Oil Tank Culture Park