Guqin Painting. 

In the age of globalization, more job and education opportunities are found in cities which in hindsight leads to increasingly more people finding themselves living surrounded by walls made out of concrete, steel, and glass. Our environment has a strong influence over our state of mind and pursuing a career in the city takes its toll. Thus when out of touch with nature, people are oftentimes faced with more stress or even depression caused by the alienation and displacement from nature. 

Inspired by the symbolism of the ancient Chinese zither (guqin) that is believed to have its origin in and so is directly linked to nature, my installation project The Guqin Painting addresses this absence of nature by creating a silent corner, where the visitor can stop for a minute and reconnect with himself through engaging their senses of smell, sight, touch, and hearing. By plucking the strings of the zither the still painting slowly comes to life, the tones wafting through the air calm the mind, and the scent of fir wood tickling the nose soothes the soul. In this quiet corner, one can for a fleeting moment let go of the busy reality and indulge in the nowadays so precious peace.

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Skills used: Arduino, Processing, FFT sound analysis, guqin, aromatherapy, Sonic Distance Ranger (sensor), 3D modeling in Tinkercad

Course: Communications Lab

Production Length: 2 weeks