Experiential Design
Cytokinesis is a room-scale interactive installation that explores the boundaries of human intimacy through an immersive two-person experience. Utilizing innovative material research, including biomaterials and silicone fabric, the project crafts a biomorphic journey that allows participants to fully express their performativity, powered by wireless communication and physical computing. With its extraordinary scale, extending throughout a studio-sized room, this transgressive experience has been showcased in multiple exhibitions, accommodating over 300 people.
medium
silicone, biomaterial, LED, metal, motors, microcontrollers, code, PLA, TPU, distance sensors
technology
physical computing, digital fabrication, 3D modelling, silicone casting, wireless protocols
dimension
600 sqft
timeline
2 months
Cytokinesis is a call and response interaction that uses WiFi protocols to activate the communication. The membranes presented on the installation is the active site embodying such experience. Whenever one person approaches one side of the installation, the other side’s membrane would stretch, and vice versa. The reciprocality of such embodied access towards an organic installation aims the provide a space for people to contemplate on the necessity of boundaries.
In cold winter’s night, porcupines would huddle each other to gain warmness. Yet, due to the quils on their bodies, they could never reach each other’s body in the closest way. Such idea of wanting to get close but not to close is the perfect metaphor Schopenhauer set up to describe the dilema of human relationship.
asking qualititative questions and indepth analysis
verifying the clarity of user flows and users’ psychology
gaining professional insights and recommendations from domain experts, including Kari Love, Hsurae, Frank Franca, and Yeseul Song
The experience design is inspired by the stages of cell division. Just as in the meiosis process where the mother cell divides into two daughter cells through the formation of a membrane in its centre plate, humans are born to be incapsulated as individuals with such formation of biological boundary. While meiosis have phases as prophase, anaphase, and telophase, the project uses these 3 phases as metaphors for the three stages of the experience involving gathering, separating and reconvene. The entire experience is 2 per experience to maximize intimacy.
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participants do not see the relationship between two installations
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onboarding is confusing
- participants aren’t sure about their roles
The initial stage of the experience onboarding the 2 participants. A consent notification will be announced in this process regarding bodily movements. Verbal communications between the participants are not permitted afterwards in the formal experience. Certain level of physical engagements will be prompted based on the hints given.
Just as chromosomes divide to two poles of the cell, the two people move to different ends of the installation based on prompts and visual guidance.
The membranes of the installation start moving like a living creature, prompting participants for further actions. Triggered by the distance of the participants towards the installation, the membranes would either shrink or stretch with malleability.