Rewind
Interactive Sound Calligraphy
REWIND is an interactive installation that explores the relationships between nature, time, and sound, embodying principles of reflection and impermanence. Participants are invited to use branches or their fingers, dipped in water, to write and draw on a mechanical rolling canvas. As water droplets meet the specially treated writing cloth, black marks appear, mimicking ink stains. When these marks pass through a Computer Vision-enabled scanning light, generative sounds are triggered based on their positions, creating an evolving auditory landscape, like a music box responding to time and movement.
What makes REWIND unique is its interplay with transience. The water marks gradually fade as they dry, and the corresponding sounds diminish until both vanish entirely. The rolling canvas perpetuates this cycle of emergence and disappearance, reinforcing the fleeting and temporal nature of our actions and creations. By combining generative soundscapes, tangible interaction, and temporal visuals, REWIND invites participants to reflect on the ephemeral nature of existence, a core theme in my exploration of reflective design.
The goal of REWIND is to invoke the concept of temporality through real-time processes, focusing on the idea of “gradual fading” using a tangible interface. This required experimentation with material possibilities. I discovered a specially coated fabric originally designed for calligraphy practice, which turns black when contacted with water and fades back to its original state as the water evaporates. This unique property became the foundation for exploring how to fully utilize the temporal nature of the material.
The fabric is mounted onto two electric rollers, creating a conveyor belt mechanism. This rolling system symbolizes the infinite cycles of life, the ups and downs, good and bad, emphasizing life’s recursive nature. A scanning light embedded along the center of the canvas acts as a trigger, detecting water patterns as they pass through and initiating sound generation. This rolling motion reinforces the metaphor of life’s continuous flow.
A webcam embedded in the system runs a Computer Vision algorithm to detect black ink patterns on the fabric. When the patterns are identified, the algorithm generates sound notes, adjusting pitches based on the ink’s position. As the water marks dry and the patterns fade, the corresponding sounds gradually stop, reinforcing the temporal and ephemeral themes of the work.
