Light Forest is an interactive art installation project that challenges conventional notions of spatial perception and encourages physical social interaction. A field comprised of individual ribbons is connected to a network of motors, which are triggered by a Kinect detecting people’s physical locations. Each ribbon is spinning with a slightly different speed when no one interferes with the installation, creating a series of waves floating in space.

 

As soon as a person enters into the field, the ribbons around him/her will elevate in a flexible manner due to an increasing speed output mechanism. With the homeomorphic forest of strings being an allegorical representation of the unknown, the project produces an exploratory experience that allows people to seamlessly move across the space while excavating a path of their own.

 

Projected onto a transformable screen made of spinning ribbons, the volumetric light projection generates a unique visual stimulation, revealing the helicoids and freezing their movement in time. The interactive experience is also enhanced by the projection and various light effects, making it almost unclear for the participants whether the space is real or an optical illusion.

 

Wenting Guo, Ziyi Zhang and Juhun Lee are all 2014  graduates of the Harvard Graduate School of Design.