Collaboration with Alex Murray-Leslie from Chicks on Speed and the Biomechanics Lab at Penn State.
Overview
Footwerk is a collaborative project that brings together motion capture technology, data visualization, and sound synthesis to explore the relationship between movement, form, and sonic expression. Working with Alex Murray-Leslie of the art collective Chicks on Speed and researchers at Penn State's Biomechanics Lab, the project transforms precise biomechanical data into visual and auditory compositions.
Process
Using the Biomechanics Lab's state-of-the-art motion capture system, we recorded high-resolution movement data from Murray-Leslie's performances. The lab's software produces extremely precise spatial coordinates for each joint and limb at every frame, capturing subtleties of gesture and posture that are invisible to the naked eye.
From this data, we created two parallel outputs. The first was a series of data visualizations rendered within the lab's software environment, with plans to extend these into physical objects and dynamic 3D visualizations using Processing. The second was a set of sonifications: each distinct movement was mapped to a unique sound profile composed in SuperCollider, so that the performer's gestures directly shaped the sonic texture and rhythm of the piece.
Exhibitions
The collaboration has been exhibited internationally, including at the Australian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition and at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
