I explored the relationship between human, computation and space by creating an animated domino system that includes a chain reaction between digital elements and physical objects. During the process, it was important to acknowledge the properties of digital information, such as synchronization and copying. In a digital-interface, copy and paste, undo, and changing scale were the typical functions that many people would often use. Initially, the goal of the project was to apply these digital characteristics to a physical environment and explore different modes of causality and effects. Methodology behind the work was to engage people with situations that would guide them to deliver simple interaction with the space. These gestures would generate different modes of spatial relationships, particularly related to some of the key aspects of the digital system. However, as the work progressed, I found the experimentation of the virtual relationships between physical objects were the significant point of the project. Having the digital and the physical interlinked in a very literal way seemed to lead to a direction where I could observe people’s behavior in space more accurately. My interest that was initially focused on mimicking the digital system in physical environment shifted towards creating a chain reaction system between the digital and the physical. How can computational environment introduce ideas of public space as an extension of private environment? What types of expression can be achieved through a surrounding structure that has digital quality? How does the body, physical objects, digital elements, and space affect one another? These were the questions that I wanted to find answers to during my process.   

My first exploration was creating an interactive system that enabled physical actuators to respond to projected dominos that represented the digital. I had it designed to have digital dominos to be knocked down by an actual domino. Digital dominos would also trigger physical devices and generate chain reactions. Another experiment included reflection of a domino being magnified to a significantly large scale. I used mirror to distort the original projection and used distance to modify the size of the digital image. The large scaled domino was also interactive to the user’s distance to a physical wall. 

The process for making these projects was meaningful to me in the sense that it opened up a different way of perceiving space as an expressive element. Building these prototypes was part of a continuing investigation of the ways in which people operate in an environment that could mimic the aspects of a digital system. Currently, I am very much intrigued by the way in which the virtual connections between the physical and the digital can generate new spatial relationships to people. My goal is not to find solutions or answers to the future environment, rather through this research, I hope to raise more interesting discussions regarding the space of tomorrow.