The Silent Treatment
Had 2 weeks as a part of “IMS - Interactive Media and Senses” course at IDC, to create an interactive art installation.
The Silent Treatment is an installation that translates the emotional weight of social rejection into a physical experience.
It captures the quiet, profound pain of being an outsider; that moment when lively conversations and laughter die as you approach a group.
Engagement Journey
The journey begins with an inviting array of bright, flickering lights, a mesmerizing mesh of vibrant chaotic energy. The viewer is drawn to this beautiful chaos, enticed to approach and become a part of it. But as they step closer, the entire mesh begins to dim, the vibrant light slowly fading into an unsettling darkness. The conversation resumes as the viewer steps away, creating the situation even more miserable for the viewer.
The installation forces us to confront the feeling of being an outcast, of having our presence extinguish the very life and light we sought to join.
Installation works by adopting a flipped narrative approach; by turning a conversation into streams of light and turning silence into darkness.
Ok, now lets see some behind the scenes…
Setup
The installation uses the following components:
- ESP32 Microcontroller
- Ultrasonic Sensor
- Arrays of Addressable LED strips
- Dedicated power supply
On the left are the array of Addressable LED strips on a reflective panel and on the right its the microcontroller soldered on a protoboard.
This was the ensuring-everything-works-before-assembling stage for this experiment.
How the device works is by seeing if the viewer gets closer than a set threshold (here its set as 60cm) which triggers a glow down animation. The device then remains in the glowed down state until the user moves away from the sensor range, which triggers the glow up animation and resumes the glow.
The components are then safely placed inside a frosted acrylic box, with the ultrasonic sensor pointing out to read presence.
Audience Response
The audience were intrigued seeing the array of light, but as they approached they found the lights dimming one by one leaving them confused.
The artwork has this ambiguity associated with it, so most viewers couldn’t associate it with the social outcast situation without the help of an explanation.
One of the user interpreted the installation as the energy level of an introvert - which slowly fades as people gather around it, which was interesting.
Once the audience got the meaning behind the artwork, almost all could immediately relate to this as they had experienced this situation.
Embracing Ambiguity
From the questions I received, I did consider adding a “Shushhh…” sound when viewers came closer or placing a small plaque explaining the installation to reduce confusion, but I chose to avoid both.
The ambiguity was intentional; most people couldn’t immediately connect it to the idea of silent treatment without context, and I preferred it that way. I didn’t want to dictate meaning, but rather let viewers engage their imagination and interpret it in their own way.