The Room with a Bird, 2011/2012, Microcontrollers, serial controllers, servo motors, PIR sensor, microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and metal, wood, plastic structure. Adjust to site.

The Room with a Bird is an interactive installation that begins with a poem. 

The project includes two different spaces. The first is a gallery space where multiple bird swings hang from the ceiling at the level of a human’s heart. When the viewer walks close by, a sensor tracks their position and triggers the swing to move, producing a sound that resembles a bird flying off its perch. The artificial echo and motion of servomotors emulate the sound and behavior of real birds as they fly away. The viewer senses the bird’s flight from one swing to another through the sound and the motion of the swings. 

The second space in the installation is the natural scenery outside the gallery window. The viewer inside can gaze afar (and perhaps even see a real bird) while at the same time, people outside can see what is happening inside the exhibition space. The window ontologically connects inside and outside, and interpretively represents virtual and imagined experience.