Final Project by Handuo Zhang |MA Digital Narratives
Germany 2020 | Interactive Installation

Vision Statement:

The human brain in the modern context is commonly considered as where the “mind” is. A type of data recording mechanism called EEG (Electroencephalography) is scientifically proven as being able to represent various aspects of a person’s mental state, such as focus, relaxation, anxiety, etc. However, it still remains a question how much these indicators represent the mysterious human mind. Is the distance between science and the mind quantitative or rather qualitative? Siro invites the audience to come up with an answer for herself.

Synopsis:

One day, a mysterious monolith appears at a random spot in the city. When the first person approaches it, it begins changing its color and shape while making abstract sounds. As the person tries to understand the monolith, she finds that the monolith’s behaviors are corresponding to her thoughts. When she focuses on a task, the monolith slows down its movement. When she gets anxious, the monolith turns red. When she calms down, the sound from the monolith turns peaceful too. Soon she finds that the monolith is mirroring her. It is a mirror of her mind. When she finally walks away from it, it turns to blank and silence.
Siro is an interactive installation that renders the participant’s brain-activity (EEG) data into three-dimensional abstract visual and atmospherical audio in real time. In other words, it mirrors the abstract human “mind” in an abstract way. The five channels of the EEG data that represent different mental states are represented by five different visual/audio aspects. It is a partially guided tour designed for a single participant.

External Links
handuozhang.com/media-installation#/siro-1/

Crew:

Creative Direction: Handuo Zhang (handuozhang.com)
Development, Co-creation: Conor Byron (conorbyron.com)
Concept Art: Jing Jing (jingjingnico.xyz)
Graphic Design: Sophia Wu (sophiawuu.com)
Production: TwentyTwo Film (twentytwo.film), 2359 Productions