The Cage
INTERACTIVE ART INSTALLATION
The Cage (2017-2018) is an interactive installation about the interchange of positions between humans and birds. Participants will experience being kept in the cage as pets, having no freedom. In this project, the projected bird can interact with people per their body languages. Through this firsthand experience, I want to lead people to think about birds’ feelings of deprivation of freedom. When birds are caged, they lose their freedom, even though they could have the decent life. Birds could feel scared, lonely, and nervous dependent on humans’ lifestyles and moods. Therefore, the birdcage is a kind of chronic weapon killing birds instead of protecting them.
This project is inspired by the relationship between humans and birds. I have done three projects about birds because birds signify freedom. They can use their wings to fly in the vast air. Birds can see higher and farther than people, with unlimited boundaries between buildings and space. But following the development of the human material and spiritual needs, humans are the masters of the world. People take for granted that we can keep of birds as pets. People consider keeping bird to be a way of walking into nature and caring for animals. But people using birdcage is a phenomenon of deprivation of freedom. Through this artwork, people will experience cages.
I used Kinect sensor to recognize human body languages. People can use their body language to interac with the bird video. The projection will exist outside of the cage.
Matching the human body languages to the bird body languages I need to create a human body language library and a bird body language library, then match them together.
I thought about more different result of people's feeling in this interaction.
I used my own bird as an actor. It's name is Chanchan. I recored its videos during half of year. I cut those videos to different pose fragments.
I made a demo of the cage sculpture using metal welding skills. It took me four months. So, I ordered a large cage from a factory.
The size of the cage are 8'3'', 8'3'', 9'85. This size fits in the gallery for the exhibition. The color of the cage I chosen is golden because I want to construct a warm and gorgeous home for people, I want to care of people the way take care of their pets.
I was using Kinect sensor as a interactive tool. It can recognize human body skeletons.