Crowd


' ENESS ENESS

Crowd is a suspended, disembodied community of eyeballs that gaze out inquisitively at the viewer,watching and tracking every movement. As the viewer moves from left to right, the eyes will follow. When no one is present the eyes go to sleep; when someone approaches, the eyes wake abruptly to scrutinize the intruder.With artificial intelligence and apparent selfconsciousness, the eyes are “aware” of each other. When one pair of eyes detect and direct their gaze towards someone, the other eyes will also become curious and direct their gaze in unity. Using projection, real-time 3D computer graphics and a video camera to track the movement of a person in real and virtual space, Crowd is able to simulate natural eye movement and the mechanisms of visual perception. Irises and pupils are projected onto the surface of suspended white spheres, producing the uncanny effect of “seeing” biological entities. A digital successor to the experiments in Optics of the 17th century, Crowd surveillance is invasive, shifty and very addictive.

ENESS: Alan Want (program developer); Steven Mieszelewicz (technical director); Nimrod Weis (artistic director)