TWIFSY (The world is fine, save yourself) a post-digital image object

Video documentation - the panels, the details inside the panels at proximity, and decoding the image-object using a mobile-phone.

See 3:50–5:10 in the video file to register the scale and audience interaction.

For best visual clarity, this video can be viewed at 2K or 4K resolution by changing settings using the cog icon. For best audio clarity, the use of headphones is recommended.

Visual detail of the existing box panels

This image illustrates the panels viewed from a distance of 2 metres.

This image illustrates panel #15 viewed from a distance of 20 centimetres.

Close-up imagery of some of the many scenarios simulated inside TWIFSY

Varirable configurations

TWIFSY’s twenty-four 59cm h x 52cm w x 20cm d panels are modular, and their final form is flexible. It is currently configured as an internal architectural media façade measuring 4.09m h x 2.09m w x 23cm d. However, it can be re-configured and installed as a two-dimensional horizontal or vertical ‘screen’ array or as a 3D dimensional monolith.

A post-digtial media facade (4.09m h x 2.09m w x 23cm d)

Above: Under construction.

Right: Each panel has a separate RGB LED colour/brightness controller linked by ethernet to a server. These animations are only indicative of the final programming, which will be done with consideration for the ambient light of the chosen sight and for the nature of the space and other existing objects on that site.

A monolith (2.4m h x 1.4m w x 1.4m)

TWIFSY can be arranged as a 3D dimensional monolith, a translucent prism that measures 2.4m h x 1.4m w x 1.4m. In this format, the viewer experiences a sculptural object, which resembles an urban high-rise, and the viewer's spatio-temporal perceptions of its form shift as they circumnavigate it.

The panels butt together and appear as a single object made up of numerous translucent and transparent cells.

Above: Alternative configuration as a monolith -2.4m h x 1.4m w x 1.4m.

Above: The structural timber frame which supports the panels.

Above left and right: visualisations for a speculative proposal for the installation in the Whale Mall, outside the Queensland Museum at Brisbanes’ South Bank.

A horizontal array offers a different perspective of the work and use of available space

Digital photograph taken from a bird-eye view with all panels illuminated with white light.

Example of a 16 panel horizontal table-top array. Approx 80cm high (variable) x 236cm wide x 208cm deep.

Alternative configurations for smaller venues as either wall-hung or free-standing objects

Example of a 16 panel array 236cm h x 208cm w x 25cm d.

Example of an 8 panel array 118cm h x 208cm w x 25cm d.

Example of an array of up to 24 panels in a linear horizontal configuration 59cm h x variable w x 25cm d.

Associated process imagery 2019-2022

Vector design for fabrication of the acrylic micro grids used to support the pseudo-pixel arrays. The image base-layer of final image piece incorporates 1,176 micro grids.

The pseudo-pixel colurs are encoded in relation to the electronic pixels of the overenlarged JPG mage.

The 8mm x 8mm x 3mm acrylic pseudo-pixels are categorised according to material density and optical characteristics including colour, translucency, and luminance when backlit.

The base-layer of the panels are assembled onto a light panel that is used to globally illuminate 49 micro-grids. Each panel is independently programmable using DMX addressing.

Detail from Panel #15, backlit with white light. The panel base layer consist of 49 micro-grids and 2,744 acrylic pseudo-pixels. The objects in relief include acrylic platforms, optical acrylic rods, and 3D printed figures made from medical resin. The panel is held rigid and supported using stainless steel threaded rods.

A vector design for a fictitious urban assemblage – perhaps a city plaza where citizens might congregate.

A plaza takes form in both vertical and horizontal orientations simultaneously.

Multiple layers of coloured acrylic are stacked and slightly offset to create a three-dimensional anaglyph effect. The viewer also experiences an illusory sense of depth as they move past the image object due to the parallax effects of the layers’ separation.

Prototyping the human figures involved experimenting with numerous materials. The eerly tests used ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PLA (polylactic acid) and nylon. The final work used Biomed amber resin, which is used to make biocompatible prostheses. It was chosen for its optical qualities.

The first prototype for the media facade used recycled Apple I-Macs. The glitching screens were used to develop the aesthetics for a dystopic Smart City of the future and the world-building scenarios that emerged from their surfaces in relief.

Early exploration of the pseudo-architectural space that emerged from the screen surfaces reveals a sprawling and alienating matrix of detritus, emulating what Benjamin Bratton refers to as an ‘accidental megastructure’ of carbon and silicon-based molecules within a city of perplexing grids and ‘data archipelagos’ (Bratton 2015, 5-10).

Social spheres – a desire to be seen and heard, to express one’s existence, and to belong and have agency within a community.

Urban sprawl.

An experiment in arranging the panels vertically to emulate the construction of a skyscraper.

Parallel to the development of the work on the studio floor, a post-digital media facade emerged on the studio wall, which incorporated the waste materials from the fabrication processes and the re-cycled computer components.

The final panels being hung on the wall frame in a 6x4 array – 4.09m h x 2.09m w x 23cm d.

I Dream - Speculative ideas for a participatory creative ‘world-building’ approach to placemaking in the city

The Dream Wall

Visitors are also invited to respond to the prompt I dream of a … and leave a short text of their impressions, thoughts or ideas on the shared Dream Wall to become a collective narrative for the future city. Participants will write these texts onto removable stickers large enough for a single sentence or statement and placed on the Dream Wall.

This plan view illustrates the positions of various artefacts that form an exhibition with participatory elements, including Play Stations and 3D printers. Small glowing panels can each be operated by a participant using a small remote control with a colour and brightness wheel. The panels can be connected to a multi-plug board that runs on a standard wall outlet.

Speculative ideas that include projected imagery

Above: This visualisation illustrates the position of a central tower relative to the scale of projected imagery from the perspective of the viewer a Gallery entrance.

Below: These visualisations illustrate the scale of projected imagery from the viewer perspective within Gallery 02 – the central Tower is not rendered in this image