https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ8fbp4b3Jw
Shadow Touch | Creativity Unlimited No1
Shadow Touch! Media art that fools the senses
We began our research because we wanted to eliminate the distinction between real and digital objects.”- Teruaki Tsubokura(坪倉輝明)
What is Shadow? A sign of fear? A symbol of darkness? Or lack of light purely?
Can you imagine that you can play with shadow by moving your hands? Is it possible?
Shadow seems to be mysterious and untouchable. It was inspiring and I started thinking what is the nature, function or meaning of it. In a certain extent, shadow is the evidence that something exist in the world. In Shadow touch!, it is creepy that shadow is shown but there is no any object on the top of the shadow.
While the audience uses the flashlight to search for shadows on empty floor, “playing” with shadow is no longer a dream, by touching ,holding and throwing them.
Of course, these flashlight-like devices did not use real light. The infrared camera from a Wii remote is installed. It detects directions it’s facing by using recursive reflectors, which are able to reflect light back the way it came. Therefore, “Shadow touch! ” generates video (or series of photos) at the same time with the motion of the camera and shows the so-called “shadow” using a projector.
After attaching recursive reflector caps on the fingertips, users are able to hold and change the motion of shadows on ground. Actually they reflect infrared light; also the Wii remote control would catch and detect the position of reflected lights.