manipulations (2021)

manipulations is a series of seamlessly looping animations in which each work presents a hand in contact with a simulated or generative virtual material.

The series focuses on gestures, their expressiveness and imperfections. This research is made possible by the use of gloves fitted with movement sensors that connect me to the virtual and enable me to stimulate a simulation system with a real impulse: my hand. Gloves transpose my intentions spontaneously to a virtual hand that serves both as an interface for transmitting gesture, and as the material affected by that gestures. As the sensors and their processing are imperfect, the intention is filtered and distorted. Through the screen, the feedback of this influence is perceived live, and invites me to negotiate between the body's posture and the desired effect on the virtual. This contact with virtual matter addresses both the ergonomics of the technology, and the contortion we undergo as a result of the experience.

This series has helped me to prototype ideas and interoperable systems that can then be integrated into other works. These explorations allow me to rapidly prototype various simulations and procedural systems using motion capture data. In this sense, the series acts as both a sketchbook and a collection of works, or rather, traces left by ongoing research.