Syncing strangers on sidewalks.
City of Austin
Role
Creative Director
Audience
Residents, Tourists
Year
2018
The Challenge
Austin’s TEMPO program invited artists to create temporary public art that would engage residents, promote tourism, and spark imagination. The artwork needed to be practical to install and remove.
My Role
Developed the concept, wrote the grant, administered contracts and produced the project with the Vurv new media arts collective, which I co-founded.
The Idea
Flow Factory: An installation where participants synchronize movement to collectively enter flow state, controlling an immersive audiovisual environment that responds to their shared rhythm.
The Execution
We used Skip It—that nostalgic ’90s toy—to evoke a flow state. Difficult enough to demand focus, yet intuitive enough to learn in minutes. We retrofitted them with motion sensors. When two participants reached “flow state”—when they synced up in rhythm with each other—the system rewarded them with more harmonious audiovisual feedback. A swarm of particles on screen coalesced into a spinning sphere. And discordant sound effects became one slow, satisfying vibration.
Results
Flow Factory engaged over 1,000 participants across three pop-up events. The installation was selected for Austin’s official New Year’s Eve celebration and chosen to represent Austin at the 2017 Gwangju Media Arts Festival in South Korea.
Team Credits
Generative Motion Graphics: Adrian Thomas
Hardware, Programming: Harry Scott
Generative Sound Design: Alan Koda
City Coordinator: Anna Bradley