Concept
Interactive Installation Journey to the centre of the Internet is a piece of research-driven art that allows the viewer to explore how metaphors such as ‘The Cloud’, the ‘Dark Web’ shape the way we understand and interact with the Internet.
The installation consists of a large blank television from which the viewer can hear a busy soundscape. To interact with the installation they put on the polarising glasses and pick up a copy of the Metaphor Map.
Upon wearing the glasses the viewer is able to see an animated illustration that depicts all of the metaphors in one scene and invites the viewer to reflect on what they think the internet looks like. The accompanying guidebook presents the research behind the project as well as containing a map of the illustration.
Screen seen through polarising glasses
Metaphor Map
Accompanying the screen is the Metaphor Map. I chose a map format to align with the metaphor of a ‘journey.’ Its physical properties—being large and clunky to fold and unfold—evoke memories associated with traveling.
One side of the map features a line drawing of the illustration with different metaphors highlighted. The other side contains a short essay exploring the invisibility of the internet, the use and impact of each metaphor, what they hide and reveal, and a discussion about how the internet’s future emerges from our current collective imagination.
Additionally, I created "tickets" that serve primarily to reinforce the journey theme but can also function as business cards, directly reminding viewers of the project they are linked to.
The animation
The animation is a visual representation of several of the metaphors we use to describe the internet including The Cloud, Information Superhighway, Cyberspace, Global Village and The Dark web. By wearing the glasses the viewer is given an insight into a world that is always there in our imaginations but rarely thought of or examined.
Metaphors not only guide our imagination about a new invention, they influence what it can become - working as a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the technology gets progressively remade to fit its metaphor. Yet no metaphor gives a perfect representation, they are always incomplete, emphasizing a partial view of something.
I designed the visuals in Illustrator and then animated them in After Effects, largely teaching myself along the way.
For the sound, I combined royalty-free sound effects to enhance the atmosphere and immerse the viewer. ‘City park’ is layered with ‘data stream’ and ‘Eerie Rumble Room Tone' and 'Tonal Computer Data Processing Noise’ to create a unique auditory experience.
This video shows the animation played on the screen
Metaphors to spot include:
'Surfing' the web
Filter bubbles
Web 'traffic'
Dark Web
Information Superhighway
Data mining
The Cloud
Great Firewall of China
Global Village, Giant Coffee House, Electronic Neighbourhood, Virtual Community
