Documentation and Critical Reflection
Problem Identification
(1) The Issue of Power in Artworks
While delving into the power relationships within art, I realized that even in the creation of interactive art, there often exists an invisible inequality between the artist and the audience. Although I have attempted in past works to use artistic media to guide the audience to examine power issues in society, my further research revealed that the process of audience interaction with the artwork also inherently contains a power structure.
As Claire Bishop pointed out, this power in interaction is not always overt but is manifested in the relationship between the creator and the audience (Bishop, 2012). We need to re-examine the role of the artist, not just as a "guide," but as a "facilitator of dialogue," creating a more equitable interactive relationship. In this way, the audience can shift from passive "recipients" to critically thinking "collaborators," thereby achieving self-empowerment through interaction with the work.
In "The Emancipated Spectator," Jacques Rancière argues that true emancipation is achieved by creating a space where the audience can participate critically and interpret the work in their own way, rather than being simply drawn into a pre-designed process of participation (Rancière, 2009). His concept of the "emancipated spectator" further complicates this interaction, providing an empowerment method based on critical participation—this empowerment does not rely on physical or interactive participation but comes from the audience's deep interpretation and reflection on the work.
Based on this understanding, I hope in my next creation to try to reduce the artist-dominated interactive framework, returning more initiative to the audience. My goal is to create an experiential environment that encourages reflection, allowing the audience to connect with the work on a relatively equal basis and to co-instil more meaning into the piece with me. This is not only a process of empowerment but also promotes a deeper level of autonomous experience for the audience through critical thinking.
(2) Interactive Narrative Experience in Exhibitions
Based on the exhibition process and audience feedback from Unit 1 and Unit 2, I realized that the way an artwork interacts is crucial to its narrative. Balancing interaction and narrative is key because overly explicit interactive technology may obscure the deeper concepts behind the work. If the interactive design is too complex, the audience may instead be isolated from the work, losing the opportunity to participate. Meanwhile, the audience's degree of freedom is equally important; they may not necessarily act according to the predetermined interactive process. Therefore, even if they deviate from the preset narrative framework, appropriate guidance is still needed to maintain their sense of participation.
In this process, I gradually simplified the complexity of interaction to improve the accessibility of the work. For example, in earlier works like "Waves" and "Individuals," the audience needed to actively input content and operate, which gradually transformed into "Darkside of the Moon," where the audience interacted through position change recognition systems, lowering the interaction threshold. But even so, I found that some audiences still encountered difficulties without clear guidance. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to further explore an interactive method that can lower participation barriers, thereby strengthening the narrative of the work.
I drew inspiration from conceptual art, especially Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain." In this piece, Duchamp handed over part of the interpretive power to the audience, breaking the artist's monopoly on meaning in traditional art. This creative mode inspired me that by giving the audience more interpretive rights, a more open narrative expression can be achieved.
At the same time, after visiting Anthony McCall's "Solid Light" works at the Tate Modern, I realized that utilizing the inherent properties of things is also an effective artistic solution. McCall's works create profound sensory experiences through the simple interaction of light and space, which led me to think about how to more fully utilize physical laws in my work to lower the threshold of interaction.
Therefore, in Unit 3, I decided to attempt to further simplify the audience's participation method through the application of physical laws, allowing more people to naturally integrate into the interaction and narrative of the work without the need for complex guidance.
(3) Concept Development in Unit 3: Exploring the Issue of Power
In my previous research, I explored the issue of discourse power in society and how individual perspectives are influenced by public media. I found that the dissemination mechanism of online information gradually leads to a unification of our perspectives. In this context, power subjects in society—such as governments and large institutions—exert influence and constraints on the public by controlling the production, dissemination, and reception of knowledge. This control over discourse not only shapes our views of external things but also, to a certain extent, determines the formation of our beliefs.
The result of political power shaping individual views through discourse may lead to polarization in society. In today's digital media environment, different power groups and interest groups often use discourse control to promote specific public opinions, causing the beliefs and cognitive systems of different groups to become fragmented. This polarization may intensify conflicts and oppositions, forming a public opinion environment full of divisions. This phenomenon is widely reflected in today's society. For example, in recent years, the divisions between the left and right in elections and social movements in multiple countries have become increasingly sharp, and the public's understanding of social, political, cultural, and other aspects shows an increasingly extreme tendency. These binary opposing views are further disseminated through the media, leading to increased opposition between different groups, making it difficult to form constructive dialogue and consensus.
Based on this reflection, I plan to focus on exploring the relationship between political power and belief in Unit 3. My creation will attempt to reveal how political power subtly shapes our beliefs and cognition by controlling information and discourse. Through this exploration, I hope the audience can reflect on how their beliefs are influenced by external forces and realize the importance of breaking this discourse monopoly, thereby regaining the freedom of critical thinking.
Inspiration
During the 2024 British Prime Ministerial election, society was filled with political propaganda that incited public emotions. Politicians used the information and data they controlled as weapons to attack each other in live speeches and TV broadcasts. One side launched attacks with seemingly impeccable arguments, while the other responded with equally strong rebuttals. However, no one could guarantee the authenticity of this information—had it been subjectively adjusted to serve personal or party interests? The truth became elusive.
Along with the flood of such information, fact-checking websites targeting politicians' statements emerged online (for example: Full Fact ). These websites aim to debunk politicians' views and claims, pointing out policy initiatives that politicians had promised but were actually unable to accomplish. For example, some politicians used speculative and misleading data during the election to support their political views, but the underlying facts were not universal and did not conform to the economic situation. However, are the views of these fact-checking websites entirely trustworthy? Who ensures that there is no bias behind these websites? Is their information also manipulated by potential power?
This prompted my concern about how political power and discourse power shape individual viewpoints. In such a situation, the truth becomes more difficult to discern, different groups are constantly pulled to opposing positions, and people's beliefs are gradually eroded in this complex and unstable power relationship.
Based on this thought, I began to conduct practical research for my work. I hope to show in my work how political forces gradually drive away the pure beliefs of individuals and explore the conflict and entanglement between these forces and beliefs. This relationship not only reflects the manipulation of truth by power but also reveals the vulnerability and instability under such manipulation. I aim to express the tension and confrontation between these forces through the visual language of the work, provoking the audience's deep thinking about the complex relationship between power, truth, and belief.
Technique
In my research on programming art installations and audience interactive works, I discovered some particularly inspiring art and design practices. Among them, the works of artist Daniel Wurtzel are especially noteworthy. In his works, he uses various material substances that, when blown by wind, float in mid-air within the exhibition space. These lightweight fabrics and paper materials seem to dance freely but are actually firmly "controlled" in a specific space by the wind. Although their movements give an illusion of being able to break free at any time, they never truly escape. This "tension between freedom and control" is the core concept I hope to incorporate into my work: in dynamic interaction, the audience believes they have complete freedom but are invisibly constrained by some unseen force.
A similar inspiration comes from the works of John Edmark. He uses wind and water flow to drive small balls, keeping them balanced in floating and collision. These works use the Bernoulli principle, which states that as the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure correspondingly decreases, forming a floating effect. This phenomenon not only adds a sense of physical wonder to the work but also, through the visual floating effect, conveys the concept of "control and unstable equilibrium." The principle's explanation in physics can be more intuitively demonstrated through SMU's demonstration video.
The discovery of these works and physical principles reminded me of the iterative production of "Darkside of the Moon" in Unit 2. Is it possible to apply this dynamic floating display method to similar spheres with smoother surfaces and smaller mass like the "Darkside of the Moon"? In my research, I did not find any artistic works related to large-sized spheres applying the Bernoulli principle, so the feasibility of this idea remains to be verified.
Additionally, during a Computational Arts exhibition at Goldsmiths, I noticed some student works that achieved interaction with objects through computer vision recognition technology, leaving a deep impression on me. Specifically, there was a piece that explored the relationship between memory and geography; the artist used cameras to recognize stones of various shapes and triggered corresponding audio clips, presenting a narrative approach combining nature and technology (picture). Although I had previously heard about computer vision recognition technology from my tutor Max, this exhibition experience directly helped me understand that this is something I am capable of applying in my own work. Therefore, I decided to use similar visual recognition technology to continuously monitor the audience's state in the exhibition space and program control for the artwork to respond. This will help my work gain a larger range of audience interaction space and definable response thresholds, enhancing accessibility and engagement.
Picture 1-2: The artwork of a student from Goldsmiths Computational Arts.
Production Process
(1) Prototype and Play Testing
At this stage, my goal was to verify technical feasibility while assessing the audience's understanding and reaction to the work's concept. Through small-scale experiments and interactive tests, I could further adjust and refine the interactive logic and expression forms of the work.
In the technical part, I focused on analysing the Bernoulli principle, demonstrating the motion state of a small ball floating in the air. This phenomenon well presents the complex entanglement between political power's control over individual viewpoints and freedom, so I decided to apply this principle to the interaction of the work.
I conducted experiments using a small fan and a ping-pong ball, simulating airflow control over the sphere, and invited some classmates and friends as simulated audiences to test the interactive effect（video 1）. In the experiment, we simulated the influence of the audience's behaviour on the work by adjusting the fan's wind speed to see how the ping-pong ball would change with the wind force. The experimental effect was good; most audiences felt that the floating effect was attractive, and some even said it looked like "magic." At the same time, those who had seen my Unit 2 work "Darkside of the Moon" could regard this piece as an extension of "Darkside of the Moon," feeling that the concept was coherent.
Video 1: Play testing with the prototype.
There were some feedback collected during testing that worth improving:
1. Interactive Logic Not Clear: Some audiences expressed that the interaction logic between the work and them was not yet clear. They could not significantly perceive the work's feedback through their own behaviour, so the interaction rules based on audience behaviour need to be further clarified and strengthened.
2. Insufficient Narrative Means: Although the visual effect of the work was eye-catching, the audience found it difficult to intuitively understand the deeper meaning of the work. Some audiences suggested adding narrative means that fit the work's theme to help them associate it with the topic of political control and freedom. This may require introducing more symbols or textual explanations in the final work to enhance narrative expression.
3. Doubts About the Stability of Larger Spheres: Some audiences questioned whether applying this technology to larger-scale spheres could maintain the same stability. This issue suggests that I need to consider the impact of the material and mass of larger spheres on the floating effect in subsequent iterations and may need to enhance the stability of larger spheres by adding more aerodynamic control mechanisms.
(2) 3D Sketching
Based on the background research of artworks, I designed the core elements of the work, considering both the conceptual expression of the project and the feasibility of production. Approaching the imminent deadline, I decided to abandon the meticulous design of mechanical structures I had previously considered and instead adopt an extremely minimalist form, aiming to create a "spectacle" space that encourages reflection among the audience (Holmer et al., 2015).
Continuing the narrative content of power and perspective from Unit 2, the spherical "Darkside of the Moon" image is reintroduced in this work as the core visual element. In the work, the selection and fixation method of the fan directly affects the floating effect of the sphere. I chose a high-power industrial fan to ensure continuous and stable wind support. Since the wind blows upward, I left enough space between the fan and the ground in the design to ensure smooth air intake for the fan.
The fan and base are designed in black, which not only adds a sense of visual weight but also implies a solemn and unviewable sense of authority, forming an allegorical "unseeable force." In contrast, the white balloon floating in the air symbolizes the untainted original beliefs and viewpoints of people. This black-and-white contrast visually strengthens the theme of the work—that pure beliefs are gradually pushed away from the audience's reach under the influence of strong political power (wind force). With the fluctuation of airflow, the balloon sometimes trembles, sometimes sways, further emphasizing the unstable balance between belief and power. The tilted base design symbolizes the instability and tension between political power and personal belief. Nevertheless, the metallic material and triangular structure of this base convey a sense of being "unbreakable," implying the solidity and immovability of power. The balloon seems to sway with the wind but can never completely escape the control of the wind force.
So far, the conceptual appearance of the work has been initially determined, as shown in the 3D sketches: a high-power fan fixed by a black tilted base, with a white balloon floating above (picture 3-5). The design will continue to be iteratively optimized based on material selection in subsequent production processes, site limitations, and feasibility.
Picture 3-5: 3D design pre-look.
(3) Physical Assembling
The fan and balloon are ready-made for use, so the focus of production shifted to the design of the fan base and the production of the wind control switch, as well as the programming for recognizing the audience and issuing commands.
The base was made by laser cutting and bending iron plates. The initially designed base had smooth curved bends, but since the metal workshop could not bend 3mm metal plates, I had to modify the design to a single straight bend. The picture 6 show the blueprints used to guide the laser cutting and bending of the base. Subsequently, I realized that the sharp angles formed by single bending are more forceful, carrying an immediate sense of danger and instability that might pierce the balloon. Although this change was forced, the effect unexpectedly fit the theme of the work. This made the contrast between the gentle balloon and the sharp base in the work more prominent.
Picture 6: The blueprint for laser cutting and bending.
However, the metal piece produced was not satisfactory. In my conception, the iron plate should be able to stand stably on the ground while supporting the fan's operation. Due to the large weight and insufficient thickness of the iron plate, the base struggled to stably support the fan's weight (picture 7-8). This was due to my lack of experience in making large-sized metal materials. On the suggestion of technician Daniel, we changed the strategy: decided to let the fan itself stand on the ground while fixing the metal plate through a support frame. We made a support structure for the fan and added steel chips on its both sides that contact the metal plate. Although I initially had concerns about the stability of this design, it proved to perform well during the exhibition.
Picture 7-8: Steel plate problem that need improvement.
For the production of the wind control switch, the ideal solution was to use a stepless speed control switch because it can smoothly adjust the wind speed, and users can choose the desired gear at will. However, assembling such a switch in the equipment requires the operator to have certain electrical knowledge to avoid danger. After evaluation, I decided to modify the control logic using the fan's original circuit structure. After watching related tutorials on YouTube, I learned that the different wires inside the fan control the power output of the motor separately. My task was to control the switching of these circuits through programming, thereby adjusting the wind force.
Based on existing production materials and usage experience, I planned to control a stepper motor through programming to switch multiple circuits by rotating to different angles. For this need, I conducted a 3D design of a motor-based switch. The four gear of the fan were fixed at 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees of the motor, and the motor carried electrodes connected to an external power source. When the computer recognized the presence of a person, the system issued a command for the motor to rotate to the corresponding angle, activating the corresponding circuit, and the wind force changed accordingly. The pictures 9-12 show the modelling design of the physical switch and the finished product obtained by 3D printing and assembly. The video 2 shows the situation where the manufactured switch switches between four fixed angles.
Picture 9-12: Wind switch making process.
Video 2: Switch test.
(4) Programming and Visual Recognition
Inspired by my peers' projects, I planned to use OpenCV and Python to create programs for task recognition and issuing commands. There are many visual recognition systems developed based on OpenCV online. After my observation and attempts, I finally chose the YOLO object detect v3 introduced by GitHub user 'erjanmx' as the starting point for programming. In the video 3, I tested the object recognition ability of this model. When a trained object enters the camera, the object is marked and generates similarity compared with the database.
Video 3: Open CV objects detecting test.
This turned my programming work to the commands after recognizing humans. In the testing phase, I divided the visual recognition state into two categories: when the system detects the presence of a human, it issues a '1' command; otherwise, it issues a '0' command. The video/picture shows the scene where I am testing this program. I established communication between the visual recognition programming in Python and the Arduino software, converting visual recognition into digital signals transmitted to the Arduino hardware, driving the motor to rotate to the corresponding angle. In this way, when the audience enters and exits the monitoring range, the system can automatically switch the wind force. The video 4 shows the relationship between the change in the switch angle and whether a person is recognized.
Video 4: Open CV human detecting test.
Since the visual recognition covered the entire exhibition space, I needed to place the art installation, camera, and laptop separately, so signal communication between devices became a new challenge. After communicating with the CCI technicians, I decided to replace the Arduino I was originally using with an ESP32 microcontroller equipped with a Wi-Fi chip. By using a mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, I established a communication bridge between the devices, ensuring that the fan could smoothly respond to the computer's commands and complete the entire interactive process.
All the code used in the project is shown below in picture 13-18.
Picture 13-18: Full code presentation
The Audio in Interaction
During the production process, after following the style of conceptual art and minimalism, I gradually realized that the work seemed to lack narrative expression of the research context. This deficiency might weaken the audience's understanding and perception of the theme. Therefore, I decided to introduce another narrative means to create an atmosphere and mood in the exhibition space, helping the audience immerse themselves better.
Inspired by the British Prime Ministerial election debate, I decided to use audio from this debate as the political narrative part of the work, thereby enhancing the sensory experience and narrative depth of the artwork. This debate not only showcased the fierce verbal exchanges between politicians but also implied the struggle for political power. The arguments were full of tension and incitement, just as politicians in reality try to attract the public to become their supporters through various means. This intense dialogue scene can bring more political metaphors to the work and convey the theme of the work—the struggle between political power and public belief—more clearly to the audience.
To further enhance the audience's interactive experience, I also integrated the control of the audio into the existing programming system, with the volume automatically adjusting based on whether the audience is present. Specifically, when the audience enters the space, the volume gradually increases from the initial 30% to 100%; when the audience leaves, the volume returns to 30%. This synchronization of sound and wind changes not only increases the immersive experience and interactivity of the work but also guides the audience to reflect—the political rhetoric seems to be prepared specifically for them, trying to influence their beliefs and decisions through emotions and words.
Concept
"Ball of Truth" is a multi-sensory art installation that combines interactive technology and physical principles, exploring the subtle relationship between political power and personal belief. By constructing an environment full of tension through wind force, audio, and visual interaction, the work invites the audience to reflect on power, freedom, and belief in contemporary society.
The entire installation's design emphasizes the tension between individual belief and political power, presenting an unstable equilibrium. The base of the work is made of black metal, and its sharp folded structure represents the hardness and unyielding nature of power. In stark contrast is the lightness and fragility of the balloon, symbolizing the helplessness of individual belief in the face of strong political forces. This contrast not only visually strengthens the theme of the work but also makes the audience feel a potential sense of danger, as if the balloon could be destroyed at any moment.
The work's interaction relies on OpenCV's visual recognition technology. When the audience enters the exhibition space, the system recognizes the audience's presence and simultaneously increases the wind force and raises the volume, creating an immersive multi-sensory experience. As the wind force increases, the balloon is blown higher into the air, and its floating state becomes unstable, symbolizing belief wavering under strong power intervention. The volume synchronously rises, playing audio clips from the 2024 British Prime Ministerial election debate, conveying how political discourse strives to win public support. The intense rhetoric in the debate, combined with the intensified wind force, creates a tense and inciting atmosphere, making the audience feel an invisible pressure, as if they are the target of power's struggle. This implies how political propaganda tries to incite the public through rhetoric, influencing their beliefs and decisions, further conveying the metaphor in the work about power control and individual freedom.
MA Show and Feedback
Picture 19-22: Ball of Truth, Roy Jianing Cheng (2024), Interactive Installation.
Balloon, fan, metal bracket, ESP32 microcomputer, Stepper Motor, Laptop, camera, speaker.
Balloon, fan, metal bracket, ESP32 microcomputer, Stepper Motor, Laptop, camera, speaker.
Video 5: Ball of Truth, Roy Jianing Cheng (2024), Video Record on Interactive Installation.
Balloon, fan, metal bracket, ESP32 microcomputer, Stepper Motor, Laptop, camera, speaker.
Balloon, fan, metal bracket, ESP32 microcomputer, Stepper Motor, Laptop, camera, speaker.
Video 6: Documentation of interactive narrative research.
Video 7: Documentation of the system detecting of audiences.
(1) Feedback on the Artwork Appearance
Due to the high foot traffic at the exhibition location, coupled with the "spectacle" attribute of the dynamically floating balloon, many visitors were attracted to stop and observe the work. Most audiences expressed positive evaluations of the form of the work, believing that the free movement of the balloon in the air brought a sense of dynamic beauty, especially the contrasting relationship between the balloon and the base—white and black, soft and hard, smooth and sharp—forming a strong visual conflict. However, some audiences felt that the pure white balloon appeared monotonous, like an unfinished state, and suggested adding some painting or projection content on the balloon's surface to enhance the visual layering.
The balloon's slow rotation and slight trembling under the fan's action elicited different interpretations from the audience. Some audiences were concerned about the balloon's movement, fearing that the balloon might escape from the wind's control or burst at any time. However, although the exhibition lasted several days, such accidents did not occur, proving the structure's stability. Some audiences believed that the balloon symbolized the journey of life, and its movement reflected uncertainty and fragility in life. Others thought that the balloon symbolized change and eternity; even though it was rotating and moving, this change itself was continuous and unstoppable. Interestingly, fear became a source of emotional response for some audiences. Some respondents mentioned that they felt uneasy about the balloon, especially because of the potential threat that the balloon might explode at any time. This feeling was related to childhood experiences and dangerous memories. Some audiences shared that they had been frightened by balloon explosions when they were young or had witnessed family members being accidentally injured by balloons, leading them to have a natural wariness towards balloons. This also shows that the openness of the work provides the audience with multi-level interpretive space, allowing different people to find feelings related to their life experiences.
Meanwhile, many audiences believed that the addition of political audio was crucial to their perceptual experience. The audio content pulled the audience's thoughts from pure sensory experience back to the power issues the work attempted to explore. In this exhibition, the audio played was from the 2024 British Prime Ministerial election debate. These persuasive and tense speeches, combined with the noise generated by the fan, created an anxious and tense atmosphere. The audience noticed the balloon's trembling and floating state under the wind's action, believing that this instability was closely linked to political anxiety. Some audiences pointed out that the choice of audio connected the work to real-life political events, prompting them to rethink those power structures that are taken for granted in daily life.
(2) Feedback on Interaction
The interaction method of the work relies on detecting the audience's presence and making different responses by adjusting the fan and volume. When the system detects that there are no audiences in the venue, the fan operates at a low gear, and the balloon floats only a few centimetres above the fan's surface, creating a calm waiting state with audio playing at 30% volume. When the audience enters the space and continues to stay, the fan automatically switches to high gear, the balloon is blown to a higher position, and the volume synchronously increases to 100%. This change aims to reflect power's attention and manipulation of individuals; the audience's presence directly affects the dynamic performance of the work.
During the exhibition, I collected audience feedback on two research questions to assess how the audience's subjective reflection influences the meaning of the artwork. Since the visual elements in the work did not have obvious directionality, and the audio was about the British Prime Ministerial election, I tested the audience's understanding of the artwork in both states with and without audio. This is for the inquiry of the audio nerrative in interactive arts. Additionally, I recorded the audience's interaction methods and feelings when the interactive function in the artwork was turned on and off to analyse whether the artist's customized interaction methods in the same artwork limit the audience's behaviour and perception, and whether releasing the audience from the interactive framework would lead to new artistic experiences.
(a) In the stage without audio participation, the audience was attracted by the appearance of the artwork and the movement state of the balloon. They tended to associate their experiences with the non-directional work. Some audiences believed that the balloon symbolized the journey of life, and its movement reflected uncertainty and fragility in life. Others thought that the balloon symbolized change and eternity; even though it was rotating and moving, this change itself was continuous and unstoppable. Interestingly, fear became a source of emotional response for some audiences. Some respondents mentioned that they felt uneasy about the balloon, especially because of the potential threat that the balloon might explode at any time. This feeling was related to childhood experiences and dangerous memories.
(b) In the stage with audio added, many audiences believed that the audio was crucial to their perceptual experience. The audio content pulled the audience's thoughts from pure sensory experience back to the power issues the work attempted to explore. In this exhibition, the audio played was from the 2024 British Prime Ministerial election debate. These persuasive and tense speeches, combined with the noise generated by the fan, created an anxious and tense atmosphere. The audience noticed the balloon's trembling and floating state under the wind's action, believing that this instability was closely linked to political anxiety. Some audiences pointed out that the choice of audio connected the work to real-life political events, prompting them to rethink those power structures that are taken for granted in daily life.
(c) Many people pointed out that the interactive mechanism of the work reminded them of surveillance and power structures in society. When the executors of power (such as governments or institutions) notice the presence of people, they influence individual viewpoints through propaganda and discourse; when no one is paying attention, this surveillance continues in a more covert way, observing and analysing people's behaviours and thoughts. This association by the audience is precisely one of the core concepts the work attempts to convey: the monitoring and manipulation of individuals by power.
(d) On the other hand, for audiences who could not experience the wind force changes, they tended to view the work as a dynamic sculpture. Some audiences tried to interact directly with the balloon, attempting to push or change its motion trajectory with their hands, but they found this not easy to achieve. Nevertheless, some audiences stated that the soft contact with the balloon brought them an unexpected psychological healing effect, as if releasing inner pressure through this gentle touch.
This interaction was evident when there were fewer audiences; the audience could clearly observe the changes in the balloon and volume corresponding to their approaching and moving away. This real-time feedback made the audience feel the impact of their behaviour on the work, making them a key part of the interaction. However, when there were always audiences in the space, the interactive function of the work stopped, the fan and volume remained unchanged at high gear, and some audiences thus failed to perceive the meaning of this interaction, losing a deeper understanding of the work.
Unfortunately, during the exhibition, due to the overheating of the motor-based fan switch during long-term operation, some components of the 3D print deformed, and ultimately the interactive function of wind force changes had to be turned off before the exhibition ended. This also meant that some audiences could not experience the complete interactive effect.
Summary of Interactive Narrative
The feedback collected from the exhibition indicates that the interaction and audio addition in the artwork indeed affect the audience's perception of the work, where the audio content with directionality plays an important role in the narrative of the topic. At the same time, the narrative of the artwork and the audience's degree of freedom seem to be contradictory. When artists want to enhance the narrative, they have to sacrifice some diversity in the audience's perception and participation. On the level of power, from existing interactive art practices, I believe that it is difficult to achieve equal participation between the audience and the artist on a narrative-driven basis because narratives inevitably involve conceptual or physical limitations on the interactive level of the work, and completely open participation would lead the audience's experience to focus on their own experiences. Although I tried to create a reflective space for the audience in "Ball of Truth," to some extent this was just an extension of the exercise of the artist's power from the work itself to the entire exhibition space, and essentially, the control over the audience's perception is similar.
Additional Narrative Attempt
Inspired by Chekhov's Gun narrative theory, I realized that by setting up foreshadowing before the audience enters the main work, a potential emotional and ideological connection can be built for the work's narrative. Therefore, Huimin and I temporarily decided to use the originally idle large PVC balls and place them outside the exhibition building, guiding the audience to record content related to their personal experiences on the balls. My balloon invited the audience to record their current moods and thoughts, while Huimin's balloon asked the audience to draw related patterns with dreams as the theme (picture 23-27).
Picture 23-27: PVC ball for collecting viewers’ thought.
My original intention was to hope that through this interaction, when the audience entered the exhibition hall and saw the main work "Ball of Truth," they would recall the content they recorded on the white balloon at the entrance, linking the floating balloon with the message balloon they had previously interacted with. In this way, the concept of the balloon as a symbol of belief would be echoed in their subconscious, just as Chekhov's theory emphasizes that any element that appears in an early narrative will ultimately play a role in subsequent plots.
However, audience feedback showed that most people did not associate the message balls outside the building with the floating balloon inside the exhibition hall. Although they had visual similarities, the audience generally regarded the message balls at the entrance as an independent interactive installation or a tool used by the exhibition organizers to collect feedback, rather than a part related to the main exhibit.
Nevertheless, some audiences mentioned during communication with me that they did notice the balloons at the entrance, and some people also participated in the message and pattern drawing interaction. With my guidance, these audiences said they could understand my intention of setting up these message balloons, that is, hoping to reflect personal viewpoints and beliefs through these balloons, and thus form an ideological echo with the floating balloon inside the exhibition hall.
Overall, this additional narrative attempt failed to achieve the expected effect. For most audiences, it was difficult to discover the connection between the message balloons outside the building and the main work inside the exhibition hall. However, if this part is regarded as an independent interactive project, it did, to some extent, successfully invite the audience to participate and share their thoughts and insights.
Conclusion
Throughout the three units of the MA stage, I gradually explored artistic experiences from low audience dominance to high audience dominance, gradually enhancing audience participation. At the same time, my research theme also shifted from broad social power to focusing on the relationship between political power and people's beliefs.
In the research of Unit 3, I analysed the power relationship between artists and audiences in interactive art and tried to create a more equal experiential environment for the audience and artist through practice. In the work "Ball of Truth," I reduced the artist-dominated interactive framework, allowing the audience to interpret and experience the work based on their own experiences. Although "Ball of Truth" achieved the idea of "emancipating the audience" to a certain extent, the narrative-driven interactive process still inevitably contains certain unequal power and control.
At the same time, the research in Unit 3 further advanced my exploration of interactive narrative and power issues in exhibitions throughout the MA stage. I enhanced the interactivity, accessibility, and participation of the work, using OpenCV technology to detect the presence of the audience and dynamically adjust the state of the work. Through observing the movement of the floating balloon and its combination with political audio, the audience could feel the potential influence of power on individual belief in this narrative space. Additionally, by adding British Prime Ministerial election debate audio and audience-triggered wind changes, I metaphorically illustrated the manipulation of belief by political power. This installation design intends to simulate the operation mode of political power, allowing the audience to personally experience the influence of power on belief in interaction, thereby reflecting on how their own beliefs are subtly influenced by external forces.