Content Description
Idea:
The term 'multiculturemolecular virus' is used as a (slightly ironic) metaphor for human physical and mental interaction – through genes, memes and code. This interaction could be also described as sharing, exchange, competition and conflict among various nations, ideologies and cultures.
Forces of human natural life cycles, human passion, the will and spirit are moving the 'multiculturemolecules'. It can be a striving for balance, dominance or survival from individual – to state or whole ethnos scale. Either living in symbiosis with others, adjusting or changing themselves or taking somebody else's place – in various parallel power levels.
Diplomats, tourists, spies, PR agents, guest workers, mixed family children, soldiers, refugees, etc., spread 'viruses' or 'anti-viruses’ that bring both 'illnesses' as well as 'cures' to them.
What matters more in the today's context globalisation and mediated reality: culture clashes, economical competition, privacy challenges?
Is it the mass of combined number of inhabitants, nations gross domestic product, income-per-capita, age-structure? Or – it is the organisation level, cultural vitality or 'spiritual strength' of an individual? This artwork does not give the answer, but tries to show possible bridges (interferences) between mental and physical social ambiences.
The work mood ranges from vision of possibly coming 'dark ages' of digital urbanised society to humorous comment on 'popular ideas' of conspiracy, phobias and euphorias.
Realisation:
Visitor can observe and affect movements of people in the scenes via several joysticks and also mix his body movements via 'avatar' in the scenes.
By moving the figures around, user can observe collisions and fusion-like effects on 'molecule' behavior. When one avatar leaves some area, other avatars entering that space 'repaints' that environment with its own molecule traces. The avatar's 'molecular structure' is also affected by presence in environment and interference with other avatars.
The avatars are semi-autonomous objects that behave like cells, having the inner and outer zone. The density and activity of avatars in specific area makes influence of the surrounding (following the rules similar to the Game-of-Life). When one avatar leaves some area, some other avatar entering that space partially 'repaints' that environment with its own 'virus traces'. However, the avatar's 'molecular structure' is also affected by presence in environment and interference with other avatars. 2-3 users can change viewpoints and density of scenes with 2-3 input devices. By zooming into the characters, they open into small 'molecules', containing fragments of images and movies of cultural icons: country flags, landscape, etc.
The stereoscopic projection and quadraphonic sound creates an audiovisual illusion of ghost-like presence in the room (projected images –'walk in and out' of the screen). The left traces also create an impression of fluid landscape or city.