Sleep Well

interactive video/ sound installation

2011

Conceptual Description

The experience of Sleep Well addresses the issue of sleeping rituals : the passages between overconscious and unconscious cognitive processes. As the viewer enters the room/space he/she hears lullabies in various languages, and then activates ( via sensors) the video projection of the artist herself. The image, reciting a repetitive text in stream of consciousness mode, invites the viewer to lay in the bed with her by her movements. When the viewer is about to lay on the bed, the image of the artist disappears leaving him/her alone in the darkness with the lullabies. As he/she lays on the bed, a lullaby leaves its space to a nightmare narrated in the same language, in company with its narrator’s image which *compress* the viewer between her identity and the other’s image as a transfguration. By his/her movements (via diferent sensors), the viewer is now obliged to assume another identity/nightmare as a vicious circle with nightmares and lullabies in diferent languages.

Technical Description

Sleep Well requires a projector, under which there will be a double bed. Visitors enter the space one at a time: the footsteps of the visitor trigger the video projection, by means of a sensor (of distance or proximity ) installed in the entrance. When the visitor arrives near by the bed sensor, at approximately 10 cm from the structure, the projection turns of and the viewer is alone with lullabies in diferent languages each coming from a diferent speaker. When he/she lays down, via touch sensors, in place of the precedent projected image the visitor is covered by another image and the narrator’s nightmare coming from one of the speakers instead of lullaby in her/his language.
Required space: 6 m (min 4m.) x 3m x 3m

Technical Requirements

One double bed , 2 proximity/ distance sensors, 4-5 touch sensors, sensor box, audio interface, 5+1 system (or a sound card) , speakers, pc , hd video projector

Software: Max/ MSP 5 – Jitter (or Pure Data)