mind.kinect.body is an interactive project that explores the realm of User Interface design. It is an informative piece that briefly explains the famous conundrum that is the mind-body problem. Failure to have consensual resolution to the mind-body problem remains at the heart of psychology and its difficulties as a fragmented dicipline. The piece relies on human interaction as a literal response to the question; they must use their minds in order to move their bodies, which will in turn bring the question to life and subsequently provoke the users train of thought.
The ‘mind - body communication’ debate is huge with many different theories suggesting a variety of different things. I have created a series of interactives which explain and challenge a few of these ‘mind-body communication’ theories. mind.kinect.body is arranged in the style of a user interface, however, its form does not convey that of a conventional informative design piece. The experience is split up into four key questions;
- What is the mind?
- What is the mind-body problem?
- If they are distinct, then how do they interact?
- Is the mind part of the body, or the body part of the mind?
The user is guided through these questions with the help of visual and sound information, however, the user is able to navigate around the interface using their bodies which will then trigger a response from the UI through my creation of the metaphorical interactions that will accompany the series of questions.
The piece draws inspiration from a number of sources, one of which originated from my fascination with immersive art. In the context of this project, immersive art refers to the optimal states of consciousness and what it means to be immersed in an experience, which leads to my main source of inspiration; the mind-body debate. The topic is so rich with information, from scientific problem solving to religious beliefs, its a topic with no distinct answer. My aim was not to condense the information or provide answers, but to show case its enormity by creating a piece of interactive design which provoked subconscious thought within the users minds.
mind.kinect.body relies on a literal mode of interaction to trigger a metaphorical answer. The body is the only mode of literal navigation, this was made possible through the use of an Xbox Kinect which captures the users real-time body movements. I understand that not all users will interact with the piece in the same way, however, they are urged to move around and explore the space. All of the triggers have been positioned around the virtual space meaning they will be triggered at some stage, even if the user is standing still.
The appearance of each section within the interface has been created to optimise the users state of consciousness, as I have stated, each interaction requires the users movement in order for them to make the most of this immersive experience. I have worked with greyscale throughout this project which is interesting because the shade grey is said to affect the mind and body by causing unsettling feelings. The interface consists of 5 scenes; the introduction into the experience, followed by questions one through four. Each scene has been constructed within Unity to act as an add-on from the real world, conveying the theme of physical vs non-physical worlds. The setup consists of a large scaled projection of the unity scenes fired onto one of the walls within a dark, enclosed room. The experience is personal to each user, meaning one person at a time can enter the room and interact with the piece, again, to evoke the feeling of immersion and personal consciousness. I want each of the users to leave the experience having learnt something, either about themselves or ultimately to have gathered some information about the mind-body debate.