Time Pieces (2015)

Interactive Audio & Video Installation

Project Description

Time Pieces is an interactive audio and video installation that explores how sound, image, and social behavior intersect in shared space. The work is structured around four chairs, each subtly embedded with light-sensitive sensors that respond to the presence of participants. As visitors take a seat, changes in light trigger distinct audiovisual combinations, creating a shifting, participatory environment.

With four chairs and four sensors, the installation generates sixteen possible audiovisual outcomes based on how individuals occupy the space. Rather than presenting a fixed sequence, the work invites participants—often strangers—to negotiate proximity and presence, gradually discovering new combinations through collective action. Social habits, such as the instinct to leave space between unfamiliar people, become part of the compositional logic of the piece.

The video material offers recontextualized views of New York City, focusing on overlooked or quiet moments: a rusting bicycle in Chelsea, a panoramic rooftop view, traffic observed from above, and architectural details along the High Line. Sound and image were developed in parallel, with music and visual edits influencing one another throughout the process. All audio was composed in Ableton Live, with video shot and edited specifically for the installation.

The interactive system operates invisibly, with sensors embedded discreetly in the chairs and the control hardware hidden from view. By concealing the technical mechanisms, Time Pieces encourages intuitive discovery, allowing participants to encounter the work through listening, looking, and shared experimentation rather than explicit instruction.

The installation was built using Max/MSP to control audiovisual triggering via an Arduino connected to four photocell sensors. Changes in light caused by participant presence activate corresponding video and audio pairings in real time, enabling a responsive system that remains largely unseen within the darkened exhibition space.

The installation received the Audience Award at Marymount Manhattan College.

Concept, composition, video, and interactive system design by Travis T Wicklund.

(Project stills below)