Abstract (short paper)

Keywords: Internet of Things, sculpture, distributed interaction, tangible interaction, non-verbal communication, embodiment, game design, object-based enquiry, interactivity, research-creation

anyWare is an Internet of Things distributed sculpture comprised of three identical objects that are individually connected to the Internet and physically mirror each other. The anyWare sculptures are art objects that telematically connect three different locations in the world and enable distal physical communication. The objects simultaneously respond to people who interact directly with them, as well as allow them to interact with each other through the sculptures. Structuring these interactions are a number of games and puzzles that people may play or solve, either individually or collaboratively. The objects transform in the experience of exploration, and in so doing reveal different levels of interactivity and aesthetic experience. The mediated sentience of the anyWare sculptures through non-verbal, playful interaction provides a model for envisioning networked communication that circumvents age, cultural, and linguistic differences.

• Jane Tingley is an artist, curator and Assistant Professor at York University (Ontario, Canada). She is interested in how interactivity combined with art objects and installation can be used to explore contemporary experience. Her current artistic trajectory is interdisciplinary in nature and explores the creation of spaces and experiences that push the boundaries between science and magic, interactivity and playfulness, and offer experiences to the viewer that are accessible both intellectually and technologically. She has participated in exhibitions/festivals in the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe – including translife – International Triennial of Media Art at the National Art Museum of China, Elektra Festival in Montréal and the Künstlerhause in Vienna. She received the first prize in the iNTERFACES – Interactive Art Competition in Portugal, and has received support from the Canada Arts Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. janetingley.com
• Cindy Poremba, PhD, is a digital media researcher, gamemaker and curator. They are an Associate Professor in Digital Futures at OCAD University (Toronto, CA) and Co-Director of the game:play Lab. Cindy has presented internationally at conferences, festivals and invited lectures, on topics relating to game art and curation, capture in postmedia practices, and interactive documentary. Their research and critical writing has been published in journals such as Eludamos, Loading and Games & Culture, as well as edited collections, art catalogs and magazines. Cindy also organizes non-traditional exhibitions as an independent curator, including Joue le jeu/Play Along (FR), and XYZ: Alternative Voices in Game Design (US). Their award-winning game and “New Arcade” work as a member of the kokoromi experimental videogame collective has been featured in both international game and digital art exhibitions. shinyspinning.com