Process and Presentation: The Dual Site Interactive Installation – Intimate Transactions

Abstract

Keith Armstrong. Process and Presentation: the dual site interactive installation - Intimate Transactions.
I present 2 short documentaries that overview major developmental stages of the work Intimate Transactions, a long-term project that has arisen out of high-level professional practice. I also present a range of other key documentation materials that have formed an integral component of my practice as research methodology, tailored to hybrid, new media art making. The presentation also details processes of collaborative design, implementation and evaluation.

Intimate Transactions is an exciting new form of interactive installation that allows two people in separate spaces to interact simultaneously using their bodies. Each participant uses a physical interface called a 'Bodyshelf'. By gently moving their bodies on this 'smart furniture' they instigate Intimate Transactions, which influence an evolving 'world' created from digital imagery, multichannel sound and tactile feedback. This shared experience allows each participant to gradually develop a form of sensory intimacy with the other, despite the fact that they are geographically separated and cannot physically see or hear each other. The work seeks to focus participants upon understanding influences and relationships within the work's ecologies.