Artists Statement 

Rainy Garden is an interactive installation that creates a moment of sensory awakening and playfulness through tangible and immersive interactions. It is comprised of seven umbrellas hung from the ceiling and an Arduino compatible circuitry embedded in each umbrella to create sensory immersion. Rainy Garden is inspired from our childhood memories about nature: jumping in the rain, gardening, fresh smell from a garden, etc. Nature is a refuge that provides shelter and comfort. Nature is a nostalgic inspiration and becomes one of core aesthetic components of our work. Rainy Garden becomes a refuge of nature, an idealized immersion, immersion without vulnerability. A touch to each umbrella handle creates a personal boundary with distinct sensory stimulations and a unique floral design print. In the gallery, umbrellas look like big flowers in the floating garden. UV LEDs attached to the outer surface of the umbrellas slowly animate creating raindrops effects. Once a visitor holds a handle of the umbrella and stay underneath of it, the space responds to the viewer and evokes narratives through visual, haptic and sound experiences. Depending on the quality of touch by a visitor, hidden visual patterns, vibrations, cricket-like sounds will appear and create a sensory-rich environment.

• Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo, Interactive Artist/Designer/Researcher. Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
• Annie Sungkajun, USA