Artists Statement

‘CyberSM III’ uses the human body as the interface for a dialogue through touch. To further complicate matters, the participants in this dialogue are physically separated. They must carry on this dialogue over the Internet.

In the installation, participants at 2 locations wear suits connected to each other over the Internet. These suits contain hot zones which generate various forms of physical stimuli and sense the touch of a participant’s hand. When a participant touches one of the zones on their suit, several things happen: the local computer sends a message to the remote computer telling where, and with what intensity the participant has touched the suit; the remote computer then starts a stimulus in the same area, and with the same intensity as the local touch, i.e., the computers send the touch across the network, and continue it through the remote suit. The
computers then enhance the local participant’s perception of the touch with sight and sound. A display projected in front of the participant shows the location and intensity of the touch, while the computer plays sounds corresponding to the touch. Once the local participant removes their hand from their suit, the computer enhanced touch continues until that zone is touched again. Participants can control the intensity and location of these touches by touching their own suits in varying manners, or they can speak to the remote participants, and ask to be touched in other ways. The ‘CyberSM III’ installation creates a full environment of touch, images, and sound, but the interaction, the dialog, takes place only through touch

• Kirk Wolford American artist, born 1967. Master of Science, Master of Fine Arts: Photography Institute of Design, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1992. Has been teaching digital photography, computer graphics and hyper media at School of the Art institute of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology. Presently works as a guest instructor at Kunsthochschule für Medien in Cologne, Germany. Has exhibited digital photography and interactive electronic art work since 1988.
• Stahl Stenslie Norwegian artist, born 1965. Studied in Oslo Art Academy, Düsseldorf, Cologne (both Germany). Exhibited art works since 1985. In the 90’s worked on several
  computer related art projects.