Field – City groupwork – Research – Homogenizing the World

For our field project I am looking at the idea of “The City” and within that, “Power and Technology”. It can be argued that technology is dividing people and causing them to become more isolated, especially within the context of a city where people are often seen as being too busy with their own lives and increasingly shut off from the natural world. However I have been considering technology in terms of interactivity, but not in the sense of tapping pictures on a screen which I feel does shut a person off from the world, and is what we are spending more and more of our time doing with smart phones and tablets.

I think of interactivity as a a way of forming a very personal and possibly intimate connection with the world around you, whether that be people, nature, or objects. I feel technology is a reflection of humanity, and while it can be lifeless and cause us anxiety, it is also open to all the joy and wonder of human experience. This is what I want to focus on, and this piece of work demonstrates that nature exactly. Humans have the ability to manipulate the world around us to create wonder and happiness in ourselves, and others, and I find there is no greater pleasure in life than giving pleasure to others and that is a beautiful thing in itself.

What is poignant about this piece in particular is the way it combines the use of light, colour, and space in a way that completely encloses the individual  and puts them in a different reality that is completely detached from the type of interactions they are used to. I think the use of light and sound is such a powerful tool as they are very primal senses and fundamental to our experience of the world, and has a strong influence over our mood. If the room had been dark full of flashing lights and screeching noises it would have created an atmosphere that would make a person extremely uncomfortable, however the harmony of bright colours and soothing sounds does the complete opposite.

The balls communicate with each other with a wireless connection, and are triggered when touched by a visitor or bump into another ball, which causes them to emit noise and change the colour of all the balls around it. It is created by a group called Team Lab and the instillation is titled “Homogenizing and Transforming World”, and represents the transfer of information using the internet with humans as an intermediary in instantly transforming the world through the adding of information.

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