Camille Dedieu, Jérémie Lasnier, Camille Seewer
GRAVITY – The body in space // Inversion Glasses
HEAD - Genève // Geneva University of Arts & Design
GRAVITY – The body in space // Inversion Glasses
The inversion glasses are a tool to navigate the inverted gravity experience re-orientating our point of view and spatial references.
GRAVITY – The body in space // Inversion Glasses
The projects explores notions of gravity and its influence over space, over our perception of it and over the body itself. By offering a world where people are affected by multiple gravities, we expose new spatial possibilities and new ways of negotiating space. The inversion glasses are a tool to navigate the inverted gravity experience re-orientating our point of view and spatial references.
2. The Brief: Summarize the problem you set out to solve. What was the context for the project, and what was the challenge posed to you?How is it possible to experience the feeling of an inverted gravity? The inversion glasses and its orange ceiling path were used as a way of discovering the exhibition "Inverse Everything" which took place during the Milan Design Week at the Istituto Svizzero di Roma–Sede di Milano from 17 to 22 April 2012. It had to introduce the four themes developped in the exhibition - gravity, telepathy, non-friction, organic - and raise the visitors' curiosity.
3. The Intent: What point of view did you bring to the project, and were there additional criteria that you added to the brief?This project acts as a trailer of the "Inverse Everything" exhibition starting with an inverted text displayed in the ceiling which can be read with the glasses. Entering the space, visitors were welcome to experience walking around the exhibition. Equiped with the glasses, they follow the orange path, discovering how the different ceiling shapes - curves, stairs - influence on the perception they have on the space.
4. The Process: Describe the rigor that informed your project. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) What stakeholder interests did you consider? (Audience, business, organization, labor, manufacturing, distribution, etc., as applicable)In order to experience a different perception of space, we tried out many techniques. First of all, we made tests using technology, with a camera and a screen. The display was interesting but pretty complicated. Using a mirror was a much more easy way to distort the understanding of our environment. We notice that ceiling specificities acted as surprising events. Therefore, in order to be coherent, the glasses had to relate to a ceiling display. Different shapes, such as curves, stairs, ups and downs, were designed in the orange ceiling path for the exhibition. These shapes had different effects on the participant's body and its perception of space.
5. The Value: How does your project earn its keep in the world? What is its value? What is its impact? (Social, educational, economic, paradigm-shifting, sustainable, environmental, cultural, gladdening, etc.)As a combination of an object and an exhibition space, this project helped us, design students, to engage with the visitors. It was a playful way to introduce the exhibition to them.
An interesting proposal which necessarily generates the interaction of visitors; it is a sign that seems to visit and change the perception of space through the use of mirrors. I like resolved viewers for visitors. – Mauricio Lara
I liked the effect of people walking around the room erratically, concentrated on what their eyes discover the viewer specially designed for “understand” exposure. – Sebastián Lara
I think the main idea of this project struck me to make the brain work differently. I think it’s the best project by far! – Michel Rojkind
I love the chance to explore the perception of space in such a simple and useful way. One of my two favorites. – Carla Fernandez
This idea amazed me. I think it has a huge potential to further developed. I loved the use mirrored texts along the way. – Andres Mier y Teran