Purvi Agarwal, Nicky Guo, Anusha Menon

Linear Networks in Nature is a project that aims to highlight the natural networks of complex ecosystems underwater, and the experience of encountering events that may incite fear or intrigue in the minds of humans. As human beings, we inherently tend to be afraid of natural predators and curious about the mysteries of the deep sea and it was our aim as a group to bring this experience of underwater exploration to life using the traditional technique of shadow puppetry. While paper was our main material, we used light to give it a sense of ambiguity and take the focus away from the material in order to communicate our story in a  more impactful way. We were also able to manipulate the shadows cast by the paper and the colour of the light to bring that sense of ‘mystery’ and ‘danger’ alive in our prototype.

The interactive aspect of our project involves the viewer as an ‘explorer’ who searches the area using a flashlight – when the light hits specific areas, a scene depicting a dangerous predator is brought to life, which is intended to startle or stun the viewer. When the light is moved away, the scene returns to its original, harmonious state. The concept behind this interaction is derived from situations where humans often find themselves being afraid or concerned for animals that generally serve as prey to larger predators, even though these are natural processes that occur in nature. When interacting with ecosystems, one must keep in mind the harsh realities of the food chain and be prepared to discover something they may not like to see.

In an ideal scenario, we see this project being presented as a more multi-faceted, interactive storytelling experience, where more elements of the ecosystem could come alive to highlight the interdependencies in nature. We would like to create the ambience of an aquarium but incorporate the realities of natural processes like the food chain in order to create more of an ‘adventurous’ experience for the viewer.

Related Works 

Shadow procession (1999) – William Kentridge

William Kentridge is a South African draftsman, performer, and filmmaker. Best known for his animated drawings, the central focus of Kentridge’s oeuvre has been to examine the years before and after apartheid.

Procession is a repeated motif in Kentridge’s work. The artist here adapts a multi-media approach in an exploration unfolding in flat, horizontal space. By using paper cut forms with light and shadow, the story unfolds itself in a more dramatic and impactful fashion. The automated movement of the forms presents itself almost as a movie but using more deliberate and intensive crafting techniques that add significant value to the work.

We were inspired by the motion and movement of the characters. The sense of animation of paper cuts was the interesting element to incorporate in our works

This is Not a Refuge! – Anila Quayyum Agha

Anila Quayyum Agha was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1965. She received her BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore, and an MFA in Fiber Arts from the University of North Texas in 2001.

She uses light and cast shadow to transform Rice Gallery into a place that alludes to Islamic sacred spaces dense with geometric ornamentation and pattern.

We were inspired by the impact of light and shadow in space and also the forms being projected as shadows, showing how the focal point of the artwork can be detached from the material used (in this case the shadows are the focus, highlighting the detailed nature of the forms and transforming the space itself), even if the material itself plays the largest role in the creation of the artwork.

Hooray at OCI Museum – Hye Yeon Nam

Hye Yeon Nam is a digital media artist working on interactive installations, performance video, speculative design, and experimental games. She is a PhD candidate in digital media with a minor in computer science at Georgia Institute of Technology and holds an MFA in digital media from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Hooray features a wooden wall made of hundreds of human-shaped characters that are able to sense users’ gestures from distance. When the viewer moves in front of the wall, the characters bow in conjunction with the viewer’s position and the shadow of their body, as if they are reacting to their presence.

We were inspired, from a technical standpoint, by the use of light sensors which triggers motion and movement in the artwork, as well as the viewer’s experience of inciting a reaction in the artwork by merely being present in front of it, making them an involved element in the artwork.

Technique Referenced: Indian Shadow Puppetry

This kind of puppetry is particularly practiced in South India. The puppets are placed behind a screen and the puppeteers create variation in the density of shadow cast by the puppets by changing the distance from the screen. They are practiced by different states and there is a difference in materiality and storytelling aspect.

The aspect of storytelling and detailing of the characters were very intriguing to us. This has been an art of storytelling for years in India. Through the project, we are trying to revive the essence of shadow storytelling and juxtaposing with natural ecosystem’s story.

Conceptualisation

We were inspired by the verb “of nature” from Richard Serra’s 1967 work Verb List and the main material used is Paper.

Nature has a complex ecosystem and its own process of filtration as well as elimination. We are creating the experience of harmonious nature with its natural elimination process. We are trying to normalize the process of life and death by being inspired by nature simplistic approach of prey and predator. Humans often tend to be quite attached to their life and are horrified by the concept of death while in nature it happens very fluid manner as a part of the food chain. The food chain is nature’s way to control the population of certain species and manage the imbalance in the ecosystem. The complex natural system is driven by the interdependency of multiple smaller elements and controlling the dependency of these elements is very crucial.

For this project, we are currently focusing on the food chain and concept of disruption caused by a single predator in a calm underwater ecosystem and how the situation normalizes quickly after the predator moves along from the environment.

We are aiming to revive the old storytelling form of shadow puppeteers.

Concept Sketch: Idle State

Concept Sketch: Alive State

Prototype: Testing LED colour change based on light sensor data

Final Prototype: Internal Structure (Left – Idle and Right – Alive)

Final Protoype: Demo

Technical description

• We are using LDR, Led strip and standard servo motors for different elements in the project. LED strip is used to set the mood of the underwater environment and it is trigger on the LDR value to change colors.
• The standard servo motors are used to create motion in the layers of shadow puppets. One servo controls the motion of waves and moves them continuously. Another servo motor adds the predator layer and changes the mood of the underwater environment. The servo motor controlling the ‘predator’ is triggered by the LDR as well to initiate the movement in the frame.

Design description

• We are working with the size constraints of 30cm cube and using a shoe box for the accurate size and form. We want to project LED behind the tracing sheet to create the mood using colour and as a lighting source for the elements.
• We have used paper cutouts to create elements because paper is quite versatile material and can be molded into any form and shape. We’re also able to incorporate more details into the forms of the creatures through paper cutting. We are creating an underwater environment and we are using paper of different thickness, transparency and colors. We are using paper of different transparencies to create depth and dimension.
• We are using colors like a calming blue for the underwater to project a harmonious, peaceful vibe and red to depict the danger of the predator. Red often shows the danger aspect in different situations.
• We are creating the motion of waves using motors to create an idle state and using another motor to introduce another predator to show the active state.
• Based on feedback from the presentation, we would also like to incorporate a colour gradient between blue and white to simulate the light refraction through the waves in actual water for our ideal scenario.

Materials

• Art Card
• Tracing paper
• Cardboard
• Fish wires
• Felt sheets

Technologies

• LDR: Light from the “explorer’s” flashlight hits the sensor, triggering the motors and LED strip
• LED strip: Switch between blue and red based on two different scenes (blue in peace status and red when predators attack).
• Standard servo1: Used to control the “predators” in the artwork
• Standard servo2: Used to control the continuous wave movement in the artwork

Setup 1: Sensor and Response (LDR, LED and Servo)

Code 1 (Sensor and Response): https://github.com/purviag/final—linear-attack.git

Setup 2: Continuous Movement (Servo only)

Code 2 (Movement of Waves): https://github.com/anushamenon/Arduino-Sketches/blob/main/Sketch%204.ino

References

Frankel, D. (2016) David Frankel on William Kentridge, The online edition of Artforum International Magazine. Available at: https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/201604/william-kentridge-58719 (Accessed: November 7, 2022).

Jobson, C. (2018) Anila Quayyum Agha’s ‘intersections’ sculpture installed at Rice Gallery, Colossal. Available at: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/10/intersections-rice-gallery/ (Accessed: November 7, 2022).

Nam, H.Y. (2022) Hooray at OCI Museum, Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo.com/107973554 (Accessed: November 7, 2022).

What are Shadow Puppets? (no date) Wonderopolis. Available at: https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-are-shadow-puppets (Accessed: November 7, 2022).