VARIANT SERIES

The Variant Series is a group of interactive video artworks created during the Covid-19 global pandemic. It addressed my emotional response to it, as well as responses I observed in the United States at that time. I also noticed an evolution of language used to describe the conditions and circumstances surrounding the pandemic, some of which are incorporated into the titles of these artworks. These works entail continuously dynamic interactive video, based on sound and movement by viewers. Made of LED panels, translucent acrylic, aluminum, computer hardware, and customized software, each work measures 55.5”W x 30”H x 5”D. (2021)

VARIANT I – HOSTS

In “Hosts”, a stereo microphone captures the location of sounds emanating from viewers, triggering corresponding circles to appear. Their color changes with each one, and their size is based on each sound’s volume before slowly fading away. Overlapping circles appear to be brighter where they intersect, emphasizing a heightened sense of energy between them.

VARIANT II – TRACES

In “Traces”, a webcam senses the visual location of viewers, altering the position and colors of abstract vertical bands on the screen. The color bands appear to be traveling upward rapidly though time, changing width and shifting left or right based on viewer position. Visual aberrations of color or brightness quickly appear and disappear in their streaming path, suggesting a level of disturbance to their flow.

VARIANT III – TRANSMISSION

In “Transmission”, a webcam captures the visual location of viewers, altering the density of arranged points of light. The closer that viewers are to the artwork, the larger the points of light become, occasionally overlapping to the point of becoming indiscernable, suggesting the sweeping power of proximity in a pandemic. The size and colors of each point alter over time and occasionally fade away.

VARIANT IV – COMMUNITY

In ”Community”, a webcam captures viewer presence over time, altering the colors of soft squares depicted on the screen. The colored squares are sometimes bright and other times somewhat muted, but always changing and connected. If colors can construe an emotional state, a variety of changing colors may suggest a range of emotions or effect from adjacent compartments.

VARIANT V – DYSTOPIA

In “Dystopia”, a webcam captures viewers in the context of their environment over a rapid succession of brightly colored video frames, ranging from sharply focused to grossy blurred. It is a scene purposely difficult to understand, which makes the piece so telling of a societal state of mind during pandemic conditions. The chaotic position of bright colors seem to communicate the discomfort of uncertainty. During the pandemic, confinement and raging emotions seemed to call out for loud expression.

VARIANT VI – DISTANCED

In “Distanced”, a webcam captures the position of viewers, translating their location into arranged clusters of colored light. The closer viewers are to the artwork, the more points of light are illuminated, showing increased activity. The points of light never touch, but seem to dance in their color changes and flicker, suggesting visual cues of contemplation and self discovery.

VARIANT VII – PROTECTION

In “Protection”, a stereo microphone captures the location of sounds near the artwork by viewers, triggering corresponding rings of light to appear. Their color changes with each one, and their size is based on each sound’s volume before slowly fading away. The rings are noticeably brighter where they intersect, suggesting their interaction. Circles of light are reminiscent of halos, potentially construed as a ring of protection around those whom they envelop.