Deliriums

2018, mixed media, robotics, video, animation, sound

“Deliriums” is a sixty-minute looping multimedia installation that probes the space between thought and behavior utilizing sound, robotic sculpture, and animation. The project investigates the ephemeral parts of systems that cannot be seen like the electrons in a circuit, the music from an instrument, and the thoughts of a person. It explores ways in which internal processes can manifest in physical space as movements, sounds, and behaviors. Three robotic musical instruments represent one of three personality clusters from the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) which include Cluster A (odd, eccentric), Cluster B (dramatic erratic), Cluster C (anxious, fearful).

I collected spoken monologues from anonymous individuals diagnosed with personality disorders, transcribed the recordings into text, and then outputted them from voice synthesizers. Then I created animations to help illustrate their imaginations. The robotic instruments score the emotional content of their confessions. The animations, monologues, and robotics are all perfectly synched like the tracks of a film; however, they cannot be experienced all at once because they are dispersed throughout the installation space.

Special thanks to Phillip Niemeyer and Northern-Southern Gallery.