Artists Statement

CRITICAL INTERACTION DESIGN

The origins of Scramble Suit lie in the name of the three-dimensional kinetic costumes used to hide the identities of undercover narcotic agents in Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly.

In the installation users encounter a real-time projection of their own image, which soon comes under attack from a computer generated ‘kinetic monster’. The monster attempts to cover the user’s projected image in order to take control of it. When the user moves and tries to avoid the visual invasion, she
becomes engaged in a struggle to keep her own appearance. If the visual invasion is successful, the creature takes control of the user’s image, sucking and transforming it into a part of itself. Users are encouraged to engage in a physical dialogue with their newly transformed counterparts in an attempt to recapture their image. Scramble Suittransforms the user’s reflection into a media zombie, which remains wandering around the screen until somebody gives it an identity again.

The installation deals with the vulnerability of our self-representation, which can be shattered in an instant by an outside force. It effectively encourages people to fight for their own image and protect it from the manipulative, cloning effects of the scramble suit.

• Hanna Haaslahti (FI) is a Helsinki based media artist with a background in photography and set design. Her recent works include an interactive installation White Square and Falling through the Force of Gravity.
• Sami Laakso, FI

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