View a video of the Opening Night performance here: https://vimeo.com/44089097

Future Self is an interactive light and sound installation that mimics human movement. The piece consists of hundreds of draped strands of LED lights that are suspended in the middle of a studio room in the formation of a rectangular prism. The structure remains lightless until human form comes within range of the 3D camera sensors. Within this range, an individual’s movements are mimicked by the object of light in front of them. One key idea behind Future Self is that it adds depth in its attempt to create a mirror image of a human form; one artist from rAndom International notes that Future Self “it’s not just about a screen—not just about this kind of two-dimensionality—it’s about this real depth, and it’s an exploration of that” [1].

Future Self’s LED light structure is accompanied by a composition by renowned British composer Max Richter. Similarly to the LEDs, Richter’s eerie, echoing score is also manipulated by a person’s movement.

For the opening of this exhibition, choreographer Wayne McGregor was brought into this collaborative effort to create a dance piece to accompany Future Self. McGregor was particularly inspired by the notion that one has the “ability to be in this space facing this extraordinarily beautiful object and knowing that you can shape it—you can shape the way in which it moves and you can see a different version of yourself” [1]. With this idea in mind, McGregor treated Future Self as an individual performer. His opening-night performance involved a male and a female dancer whose fluid movements around the LED form simultaneously conducted the installation, manipulating its visual and acoustic impact which thereby allowed Future Self to perform in the dance.

Future Self can be interpreted as an example of modern transductive art. Through human interaction, this piece transforms movement and images into a dynamic, multi-dimensional display of light and sound. This artwork treats its audience as its own subject, examining their form and reflecting it in an abstracted mirror image that can be said to be a reflection of one’s own future. The subject is fully responsible for its outcome; it resembles one’s present self, yet it is not an exact duplicate, and it is not a crystal clear projection.

[1] https://vimeo.com/41699285