Brian Knep

Light of Inclusion in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights provides a playful interpretation of the idea that our actions affect others and that we have to work together as a community to improve human rights. The game is a 21’ white circular interactive floor projection that rewards people coming together to form groups. When people walk through the circular area, spotlight-like colorful orbs and trails follow them around. When people come close to each other, their orbs merge and their outlines begin to animate energetically. As the group size increases, the energy of the surrounding color field also increases and becomes more irregular. With five or more people, the group becomes big enough to transition to a new “oneness” state where each person’s orb turns into a solar corona. In the “oneness” state, the group’s color fills up the whole space with a field of textured light. The wordless interaction provides an alternative way to explore group collaboration and works as a nonverbal counterpoint to the surrounding exhibits in the gallery’s 18 alcoves filled with rich historical content. Families with small children as well as adults can access this piece or sit around and rest in the surrounding circular benches while watching others enjoy and explore.

Tactable designed and developed this piece and brought me on board to develop the computer-vision and projector-blending algorithms.