Time-Away

Beyond the absence of time

Client

Academic

Year

2022

Prologue

There are 5S’s of design that the curriculum of New Media Design is pedagogically focused on, namely Staging, Solving, Shaping, Speculating, and Setting. The Staging as the name suggests, focuses on crafting an experience - especially a physical one to represent the research and also something that be a medium to convey an idea or provoke thoughts - something that has layers, and every audience has something to take away. Time Away is such an interactive installation that enables dialogue between the audience and the installation to communicate the idea and lead them to resonate with it eventually in their own ways.

Documentary

The staged experience was set at the Design Gallery of NID Gandhinagar Campus as an interactive installation.

The Concept Note

“We do not remember days; we remember moments,” wrote an Italian poet, Cesare Pavese.

Even the most minor fraction of a second might feel significant while awaiting an event. Soon after, the event will be interlinked to the fabric of memories that we continuously weave, where moments will be remembered more than when they occurred.

But time is often referred to as the fourth spatial dimension. It is continuous and seems inevitable, which sequences events and acts as a critical component to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them. We possess memories of occurrences and experiences interlinked with time. Like a woolen fabric made of colorful yarn by an expert pair of hands crocheting in a peaceful evening. The chains are carefully stitched to one another to interlink the yarn to the fabric. It is as effortless and continuous as we add the moments we lived into our memories.

The spool of yarn is slowly unwound like the serenity of a ticking clock. Like time, the significance of yarn as a material eventually subsides once it is stitched to the fabric.

Look closer. The spool might appear to be controlling the crochet: the speed, by how fast it unwinds, and the patterns, through the color of yarn it disperses. Listen carefully; you might hear the ‘tick’ of the clock, is time controlling the aspects of our lives? The time and the moments we live are evidently interconnected. Validating their interdependency might not be as easy as holding back the yarn to observe if the crochet is affected. Holding back moments is impossible but imagining a world outside time-concept is not.

Take time away from time as you hold the spool, and ask yourselves, “How will you live beyond the absence of time?” “How will you possibly index those moments within the memory fabric without time?”

Process Overview

Time Away is an interactive installation that provokes thoughts towards the embodiment of time and the influence of technology in everyday life. Crafted as a staging experience as a part of the academic project.

Define 'Technology'

Reference Books

01 First step

The birth of the idea took roots from the idea of experiencing own social media gestures from a different perspective.

It all started with the idea of exploring our own social media gestures from a fresh perspective. I couldn't help but notice how habitual actions like swiping, scrolling, and pinch-to-zoom, which were virtually unheard of a few years back, have now taken on profound meanings. For instance, scrolling through social media has become second nature, an almost instinctive reaction the moment we open platforms like Instagram.

To delve deeper into this concept, I created an experimental prototype within my studio space. I invited willing classmates to come and experience it, engaging in discussions about their thoughts and experiences. What was truly eye-opening was that most of them realized they had been taking these gestures for granted without even noticing how deeply integrated they had become into their daily lives.

" Hey, can I help you to scroll today? "

This impromptu installation lets the participant place their phone inside with their social media handle open and scroll.

Enforces a new perspective in them and let them reflect on their social gestures.

02 Anchoring

Looking for an anchor from the broad realm of technology led me to explore the components of technology or the elements that stand for the growth of technology. Listening to Genevieve Bell, especially at her Standford Lecture, made it interesting how the importance of time as a concept grew in societies as technology grew.

Time got multiple perspectives, and it isn’t an easy topic to cover and represent if not taken specific anchor points and focused on them.

Trying to represent the same, a quick experiment was to represent time and its unavoidable significance in life due to technological advancement. Manipulating/representing the property of time: For example - time is irreversible and one directional/linearity; what if you can experience reversing it? or Time is subjective - how about experiencing a subjective change in perceptions of time.

Explorations and participation-oriented experiments were conducted to break down questions such as :

What if a person can experience the significant nature of time?

Time is subjective -how about experiencing a perception of time?

How to use technology as a medium to represent the same?

How to make it interactive/immersive/ appear simple hiding technical parts?

03 References, Inspirations

The triangle of an effective process specifically for this project consists of three elements: Concept, Representation, and Technology. A comprehensive exploration into these aspects played a crucial role in achieving a harmonious balance among them.

In defining the concept and framing questions related to the idea of time, I found abundant assistance in the following.

Carlo Rovelli

The order of time

The intricate and fluid nature of time, challenging traditional perceptions and delving into the philosophical and scientific dimensions of temporality.

Helga Schmid

Uchronia

PhD thesis, Thesis examines alternate histories, delving into the speculative exploration of what could have been, challenging conventional narratives, and inviting contemplation on the possibilities that diverge from our established historical trajectory.

Andy Goldsworthy

Rivers and Tides

Unveils the mesmerizing, transient artistry of Andy Goldsworthy as he collaborates with nature to create ephemeral sculptures, showcasing the beauty of impermanence.

Ted Talks

Genevieve Bell

Advocates for a human-centric approach to technology, emphasizing cultural understanding, ethical considerations, and inclusive design principles in shaping the future of digital innovations.

Henri Bergson

Time and Free Will

The interplay between time, human consciousness, and freedom, challenging deterministic views and emphasizing the subjective experience of duration.

Dynamicland

Bret Victor

Envisions a future with Dynamicland, promoting an ideology where the physical and digital worlds seamlessly integrate, fostering collaborative creativity through interactive and accessible computing environments.

Breaking the representational aspect posed a challenge, and recognizing the need for improvement, I engaged in numerous prototyping iterations with a clear goal in mind. The inspiration for this endeavor stemmed from impactful installations, such as "More Sweetly Play the Dance" (2015) by William Kentridge, encountered at the Kochi Biennale. The immersive visual experience, the open dialogue it fostered between observer and installation, and the persistent thread of curiosity woven throughout, despite the weighty concept it conveyed, left a lasting impression.

Another source of inspiration was Shilpa Gupta's "For, in Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit," a multi-channel sound installation giving voice to 100 dissident poets. The craftsmanship evident in the way it immersed observers within its narrative added depth and understanding to my own explorations in representational art.

04

When listing down all possible activities that can be related to time like chess, other sports, reading, sewing, weaving, sketching, etc. Knitting and crocheting stood out as being very time-involved processes. To understand the involvement, we recorded Hema who was kind enough to help out by crocheting for some time.

Prototyping

To represent time, there was a need for a better tool or medium, which may metaphorically build layers while representing the concept of time. Hence exploring the connection between Crochet and time. Learning and observing the process. Investigating the interactive part.

The next phase was to define the possible interaction the staged experience can possibly have, something interesting, unexpected, and uncommon. After shooting a mock video, several mock shots were created to test out the experience and get feedback from people visiting the New Media Design Studio.

"Through keen observation, innovation unfolds, as every detail holds the potential to spark transformative ideas."

After several trials and errors, it was understood that establishing a physical to-digital dialogue - one that the participant has with the prerecorded video playing on a screen requires certain components designed with precision.

A well-shot video with several scenarios to loop in and out and stitch without much of a disturbance to the whole experience.
A sensor-motor unit pulls and releases the yarn as if the artist on the screen is doing it and even when the participant disturbs the process, the yarn's behavior is matched with the screen.
An interface to control the unit and video and seamlessly connect the whole process - processing.org might work fine!

It was crucial to determine what ambiance and scale the digital output should have. Before deciding to opt for an old CRT Television for the same, the experience was evaluated with different settings and various scales of projection. Below is footage from the biggest setup attempted at the playground

05 Exhibition, Documentary

The project aimed to culminate in an open exhibition, extending invitations not only to the campus audience but also to the wider public, providing me, as a designer, with the opportunity to comprehend how they perceive my design. Unfortunately, due to the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting a physical exhibition became impractical.

However, this setback presented an alternative avenue—an opportunity to script and film a professional documentary capturing the essence of the final outcome. This documentary serves as a comprehensive record, allowing others to experience the design vicariously through the medium of video.

06 Future Scope

The TimeAway concept is fully developed, and its technical feasibility has been thoroughly tested. As a digital-physical dialogue-enabling installation, the future potential of TimeAway extends to a hybrid installation, allowing interaction over the Internet with suitable modifications to the interactive elements. Additionally, the concept highlights the importance of well-designed human interactions to convey a sense of dialogue and emotionally engage the audience.

07 Learning

The project has been an extensive journey of acquiring new skills, significantly contributing to the refinement of my design process, and providing an opportunity for collaboration, where I had the privilege to tap into and share a diverse range of skills and knowledge.

The spectrum of skills involved in this project spans across literature review, conceptualization, physical prototyping, 3D modeling, mechatronics, creative coding, exhibition design, and professional video documentation.

"In the crucible of challenges, resilience shapes proactivity, confidence emerges, and what once seemed insurmountable transforms into stepping stones paving the way to a stronger, more capable self."

Overview