White Square (2002), an interactive installation by Hanna Haaslahti

ARTISTIC CONCEPT interactive shadows

White Square is just a blank plane, a square of light until someone steps in it. Suddenly, he finds himself in the middle of a living shadowland where interactive shadows projected at his feet make contact with other shadows in the square. People can play together with collaborative visual structures created by shadows grabbing and holding on to each other. The world of shadows reflects the positions and movements of people in the square.

The key element of the installation is a human shadow, which is transformed into an interactive medium. The installation illuminates the network of connections between people sharing the same limited space. White Square tries to break the control and command relationship between people and technology into a more intuitive and physical one. It is a public playground which aims to stimulate a new awareness of ourselves as physical beings. White Square can also be seen as an architectural media space, which invites people to express themselves, bringing along the whole body as a tool of interaction.

Hanna Haaslahti is a media artist working and living in Helsinki. She graduated from Medialab at University of Arts and Design Helsinki in 2001. Her thesis resulted in an interactive dance installation. During 1992-1994 she studied set design in Art Academy of Verona in Italy and spent the academic year of 1996-97 in the Department of Arts & Technology in the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Currently, she is a board member of Finnish society for new media, m-cult.



Her artworks are interactive installations where the human physique plays an important role. Usually, the entire body interacts with the installation, which responds to the presence and movements of person/s in various ways. She explores physical relationships between people and technology by developing interfaces based on human gesture and presence. She also works as a scriptwriter and a director for dance films, collaborating with various Finnish choreographers.

www.fantomatico.org/artworks
www.f2fmedia.net
www.m-cult.org

CREDITS

Interactive scenario and visualisation:
Hanna Haaslahti

Engineering, software development and
interaction advisor:
Yves Bernard (iMAL)

CONTACT

Hanna Haaslahti
hanna@fantomatico.org
www.fantomatico.org/artworks
mobile +358 50 3310531

Yves Bernard
yb@imal.org
www.imal.org/WhiteSquare
mobile +32 478 275510

EXHIBITION HISTORY

16.09.-16.12.2002 SYMPTOMANIA - Finnish contemporary art, Kunsthalle Lophem (Brugge)
16.01.-16.03.2003 White Square, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Helsinki)
15.03.-15.04.2003 AIM IV:Interference Patterns, Armory Northwest (Pasadena)
01.07.-20.07.2003 Pas vue, pas pris, Hôtel de l´Industrie (Paris)

DESCRIPTION OF FEATURES

How the installation functions:
A white immobile square (minimum size 4 m X 3 m) is projected on the floor in a dark space. When an exhibition visitor enters the square, a shadow appears and starts to follow him. Shadows multiply and circle around his feet as he walks in the square.

Basic interactive features of the installation:
Shadows respond to a participant’s speed, direction and position with programmed inertia, adding fluidity and softness to their movements. When a shadow reaches an edge of the screen, it starts to break and pixelate as to mark the boundaries of its existence. When a participant spreads his arms, shadows become transparent as to avoid touching him.

If a participant stays long enough in the installation, he is exposed to new modes of interaction:
Shadows are fused into one, which begins to fly around its owner. By spreading his arms, a participant can control his distance to the circling shadow.

Collaborative features:
When two participants stand close to each other, their shadows connect and create a bridge between the participants. As they move, the bridge stretches in order to maintain their connection. When participants move far apart, the connecting shadow splits into two.
Two participants drawn away from each other can be reconnected by one
shadow reaching out to the other. The reunited shadow then sticks to the feet of a participant until he shakes it off by a quick movement.

White Square was designed and created by media artist Hanna Haaslahti.
www.fantomatico.org/artworks
The engineering and programming work was done by Yves Bernard from iMAL, Brussels. www.imal.org/WhiteSquare

The work was made possible by the financial support of:
Kunsthalle Lophem, www.kunsthallelophem.be
AVEK - the Promotion Center for Audiovisual Culture, www.kopiosto.fi/avek
Frame - Finnish Fund for Art Exchange, www.frame-fund.fi
Arts Council of Finland, www.taiteenkeskustoimikunta.fi/english