In Ocean Dwelling, I convey my experiences and relationship with water through an immersive video installation. I fully encapsulate the viewer with fabric in order to force them to focus on the content at hand. I am creating a cinematic experience in order to instill a feeling of progression in my audience. Everyone has preconceptions of water, which will lead them to project their own associations onto my installation. I’m interested in exploring how my audience’s varying reactions to my content differ from my own.

I incorporate elements of sculpture and digital media into my installation to reinforce the interactivity and immersion. Ocean Dwelling utilizes an Xbox Kinect to locate and track the various users that enter the space. People increase the speed and volume of the projected video as they enter the space and decrease the speed and volume as they exit. This effect reflects the dynamic aspect of water - calm at times while turbulent at others. I create a small, contained space in order to better encapsulate the viewer. Video is rear-projected on the sculpture to allow the viewer to get closer to the image without casting a shadow. The audio plays from multiple, overhead speakers to better engulf the viewers.
Throughout my life I have surrounded myself by the bay and ocean. This has made me hyper-perceptive to the constantly changing weather conditions on the water. I convey these experiences to my audience in order to present an environment that they may have not previously experienced. After spending hours at a time in the ocean I have often experienced a pulling sensation in my body caused by resisting the strength of the currents. I aim to create a physical response to my piece by shifting the horizon lines and overlaying multiple videos.