All in One
Year: 2023
Role: Direction and Technical Development
Medium: Interactive Installation (JavaScript, ML5 PoseNet, p5.js, webcam manipulation)
Exhibition: Presented as a proof of concept at New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program Spring Show
Overview
An interaction that simulates bacterial quorum sensing to transform microbial communication into an embodied, participatory experience. By prompting unfamiliar movement through nose tracking, the piece encourages participants to momentarily inhabit a non-human perspective—revealing how collective intelligence operates beyond individual control.
Visualizing the invisible language of bacteria through glowing trails of light. Participants become part of a living ecosystem, their movements triggering digital “autoinducers” that simulate bacterial quorum sensing. As more people move in harmony, the space reaches a threshold, erupting in collective bioluminescence. Inspired by the symbiotic relationship between Vibrio fischeri and the bobtail squid, the piece connects biological intelligence with a cosmic visual metaphor—evoking microbial stargazing and inviting reflection on the interconnectedness of life at both microscopic and celestial scales.
How can we translate the invisible language of microbial communication into a participatory, sensory experience that resonates with human behavior? And how might we encourage people to move in ways that are both familiar and strange, inviting them to embody a new, non-human way of being?