INDN 341: Post Presentation Re-Shuffle

Coming out of the presentations, one of the most pressing concerns about our project was that we hadn't quite nailed exactly what we wanted to do. We had settled on an idea, but the result we were seeking to achieve just wasn't overly interesting. Initially a bit insulted, we took the advice and re-wrote our project over the following two weeks.

One of the things we realised was an issue is that in order to create a wholesome exprerience for the viewers and users, the project had to be exciting to watch. It also had to be interesting and dynamic, while also nailing the way we wanted the user to feel. One of our problems was that we weren't sure what we were going to make the thing look like. This was a bit of a problem initially, but after looking at lots of Jean Tinguely's work, we decided to emulate his style of using lots of junk and scrap. Since we were looking at something rather substantial, this would help cut down cost and having to source a lot of stuff.

The next thing that we had to do was decide on a few different ideas to use as destruction techniques. We collectively decided that the main focus of the destruction would still have to be on water, since that was one of the main aspects of my initial project. The aspect of destruction that we were definitely going to roll with (since it was one of the easiest and most effective) was the concept of dragging the confessions through a trough of water. By doing that, the notes were almost guaranteed to be destroyed, as well as removed from the hooks on the belt/rope they travel on.

The next idea that we had was for a fairly destructive method. This method would definitely cause a fair amount of damage, as well as prepare it for the water trough. The idea was to attach some small pieces of metal to the end of a spinning motor in a way that would have it essentially chop up the confessions in short order.

The  first element that we want to build incorporates with the booth that we want to build for submitting your confessions. The booth allows people to put up their confessions, while still maintaining anonymity as they do it. The point of this being that people looking at the installation cannot immediately see people's confessions. By shrouding the booth, as well as the first wheel that the confessions pass around, the viewers won't see their own confession pop up on the installation until some time later (say 10 minutes?). This is then incorporated with the first destruction method, whereby the confessions are smothered in fog.

Kind of a dodgy sketch, but it looks at the idea of  how it might all fit together. Starting bottom left, the user writes their confession, which passes behind a shroud around the wheel, and then appears at the top surrounded by fog. The note then passes along the line. This is where the note will be the most visible, since it passes unscathed for the most of the top right section. It then passes underneath a small vessel that drips onto the notes as they pass below. We decided to scrap the spinning blades ideas, because we decided it might be too dangerous. The notes then pass underneath the wheel and into the trough, where they disintegrate, before passing back into the booth, where people hang up their new confession.

This design was then slightly revamped as we began to decide how the materials might work together, especially since we were now going to go for a total junk yard aesthetic.