BIOLUMINESCENCE

The Experience of Fish Swimming through the Bioluminescent Plankton

Partner: Mary Mark

Week 06 | 03/02/2023

Week 07 | 03/09/2023 | Exhibition

We found a closet space in the exhibition room and the space is quite dark when the panels are closed. Therefore we did not need to borrow blankets and block the sunlight. We brought an aroma diffuser and a speaker as we were trying to level up the multi-sensory experiences for the audiences. The diffuser was producing the smell of fresh ocean and the sound of the deep ocean was being played through the speaker. The audiences are invited to go into the closet one by one and experience the installation. Whenever one goes, the optical fiber on one’s head would light up, in order to imitate the bioluminescent effect by the ocean planktons. The light source of the optical fibers is an iPad, which is mirror to the screen of the laptop, which connects with an Arduino with a 8x8 time of flight sensor, sensing the location of the audience in the pre-mapped area in the closet. Through the installation, we hope the audience are able to experience the fish swimming through the bioluminescent plankton.

figure 1 - installation

video 1 - experience

video 2 - sensor reading to p5.js sketch through serial communication then mirror to iPad