Exhibition of 15 light enhanced outfits with a media installation
abstract
The task was to convert a 670 square meter room into an new light experience with a minimum budget and to put 15 light augmented outfits into scene
We projected motion graphics on industrial stretch foil which was not only a low cost solution however a nice formal contrast to the opulent light enhanced out fits. The show was very successful and counted over 24.500 visitors within its 6 opening days.
Project
SurPlus is an interdisciplinary installation by students of the intermedia and fashiondesign departments of Trier University of Applied Sciences. The cooperation engaged in possibilities to enhance the concept of clothing by incorporating the element of light and thereby establishing new modes of communication.
The project is guided by professor Daniel Gilgen (Department Spacial Media Installations and Extended Human-Computer Interaction) and professor Dirk Wolfes (Head of Department Fashion Design).
Installation
Within the concept of Luminale 2014 the eastern gallery of the Palmengarten is transformed into an intriguing area of light and soundscape. The visitor is invited to experience the mystic realm of the so called Blue Hour. Manifold layers of translucent plastic film spanning the 670 square meters of the gallery compound, create an exciting experience.
Hereby the structure of the transparent foil is not only chosen for its aesthetic value in creating an unique ambiance. Residing itself at the transition between the material and the immaterial, the plastic foil to visualizes the intangible – light.
In this context light is seen as something immaterial; and only in the changing conditions of illumination and artificial lighting, light as something without matter becomes perceptible.
Setting
The material characteristics of the plastic film create plain, flexible structures that are pervading the room from one side to another in a flowing motion. Suspensions attached at different heights arrange the plastic film in the gallery. The semi-transparent straps of film represent the refracting beams of light in the room, dividing the gallery into many-cornered alcoves which are setting the stage for fifteen different outfits.
Projection and Interaction
The Blue Hour is the period between dusk and dawn and also the time between sunset and the complete absence of light at night. During the Blue Hour there is no direct sunlight and only the blue of the sky is left which leads to this time‘s coloring.
This atmosphere is reproduced by twelve Full-HD projectors illuminating the foil structure in the room. These large-scale projections create a diverse variety of different worlds of light within the room.
Additionally Arduino-controlled pressure sensors at the entrance and exit measure the number of visitors moving in the room and modify the projections accordingly.
Fashion exhibitions
The topic of the fashion designers‘ collection is Surplus. This style is known for its excessive use of fabrics and textures. In this exhibition, the aspects of surplus are combined with the upcycling of old military clothes. In their conceptions the fashion designers knowingly play with the contrast of mundane military clothing tailored to very specific needs and the remarkably exuberant use of different materials under the aspect of surplus.
Here the clothing too picks up on the contrast between visibility and invisibility.
The built-in electro luminescence emphasizes the clothes‘ intermedia staging. With the combination of traditional crafts and experimentally integrated new technology the designs aesthetically chime together. Each piece of clothing is unique with regard to its technical as well as its artistical involvement.
Unlike as at common fashion shows the clothes themselves together with the whole room constitute the protagonists of the installation.
More than 81 meters of electroluminescent wire as well as 26 square meter of electroluminescent foil have been integrated into the designs and add an additional context.
Team Intermedia Design
Benjamin Sonnenschein
Goncalo Soares
India Uhlig
Jakub Kubara, B.A.
Jasmin Maier
Jasmin Thom
Joanna Salfellner
Katharina Ehrles
Michael Schneller
Pia Spieler
Sabine Simone Neises
Tania Frankjaer
Team Modedesign
Anastasia Bogomolov
Carolin Hinz
Eleonora Machleidt
Fiona Wrobel
Hanna Lin Schaffrath
Ilona Greff
Julia Bihr
Kerstin Hoffmann
Laura Schüßler
Lena Wollscheid
Lily Wotschel
Lyudmila Shakhyan
Nora Belschner
Valentina Ismailow
Projektleitung Intermedia Design
Prof. Daniel Gilgen
Projektleitung Modedesign
Prof. Dipl.-Des. Dirk Wolfes