Narcissus I is an interactive installation that functions as a mirror. The installation manipulates a visitor’s biometric data in order to produce a reflection. This reflection functions as an interlocutor, questioning the viewer’s complicity with, and place within, a compromised natural system. [+]

The installation uses a wireless biometric sensor to capture and amplify each visitor’s heart rate. The data is translated into a series of animations that are projected onto a reflecting pool containing 26 gallons of spent petroleum. The visitor is free to move about the pool as the animations move in perfect synchronicity with the viewer’s amplified heartbeat. The immersive audio-visual experience palpably connects the viewer to the images before them. Over time the animations reveal a poem specific to each viewer’s unique biorhythm. Narcissus I was installed at Headlands Center for the Arts in the summer of 2013. The project is an ongoing collaboration with sound artist Bill Hsu.

Dimensions: 8 x 12 x 16 ft.

View video: http://vimeo.com/68318139