Image: One of the 5 characters designed and animated for Intimate Transactions

Intimate Transactions - the interactive installation I had the pleasure of working on (back in 2004/2005) - was recently shown at the National Art Museum in China as part of the Media Art China’s Synthetic Times Exhibition.

I was primarily responsible for character design, modeling and animation; however myself and the other key collaborators were all involved early on with various parts of concept development - which is a truly fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable experience with an arts project of this type.

So what is Intimate Transactions?

‘Intimate Transactions www.intimatetransactions.com is an interactive installation that allows two people located in two different global locations to interact simultaneously using their bodies - connected through the Internet. The work arose from an investigation into new ways of creating embodied, performative and improvisational experiences for participants who are separated by distance, but connected by electronic networks. This is accentuated through a strong sense of presence of the other person that develops during the experience. Intimate Transactions uses these embodied experiences to engender understandings of ‘ecological’ relationship through connecting both participants within a global system of co-dependent relationships.’

- Keith Armstrong

It has toured successfully in both United Kingdom, United States, enjoyed a showing at the highly respected ARS Electronica festival where it picked up an honorable mention in the 2005 Annual Prix ARS competition (International competition for Cyberarts), and is currently touring as part of the GEO Project (by Museum and Gallery Services Queensland ).

There have been many articles and papers published about the work: Artlink, Fibreculture , and 3D World magazine (April 2005) to mention just a few. If you wish to delve a little deeper,  there is  a book (including DVD) published - by Australasian CRC for Interaction Design - which goes into depth about the Installation, it’s development, and the themes present in the work.

For more information and a full touring history click here, or visit Keith Armstrong’s site Embodied media.

Below are some more images of the creatures I created for the work:

Avatars

The ‘Avatars’ (each avatar represents a person in the Intimate Transactions virtual world). The joining of two characters initiates a shared space environment between them. This image represents them sharing their essence or energy.

Conflict

The ‘Conflict’ character, seen above, is probably a favorite - I imagine it would make a great pet, although I’m not sure what it would eat. It might be best to stick to something simple, like  a goldfish.

Change

‘Change’ has an indefinite shape that is in a state of flux. This character is quite serene and mysterious. Many visitors really liked it for those qualities; and comment often received was that it evoked, in their minds, an images akin to that of an angel.

It has been incredibly thrilling seeing the project gather momentum and success as it tours locations across the globe. Much of this success should be attributed to the Artistic Director, Keith Armstrong, and key members of the Transmute Collective. If you enjoy interactive installations and would like more information about Intimate Transactions and other works please visit Keith’s site http://www.embodiedmedia.com

If you  this is your sort of thing and love new-media art or interactive installation like I do, be sure to visit we make mony not art.