Multimédoigts 2.2 is an interactive installation. It looks like a wooden closet with multiple functions. It blends two universes : one is the hand-crafted creation, with everyday life objects one can touch and manipulate, and the other is the universe of medias, digital and virtuality.
This installation offers an exploration of technology through game and interaction. It allows the reestablishment of a human-computer relationship that departs from a dependency on the one with respect to the other by putting man back at the heart of the machine.
Terms belonging to multimedia are used to name the interaction points: search engine, cyberspace, hard drive, etc. The meaning given to these groups of words is adapted into poetry thanks to the devices made from everyday objects and artisanal mechanisms. The touch screen becomes a box dressed in latex gloves that an inverted vacuum inflates when the spectator touches a button. The meaning of the interaction is also reversed: we are no longer the ones touching the screen, but it is the screen touching us.
The photo booth becomes a video booth, and the video cameras placed throughout the work – in the dial of a scale, at the tip of a fishing rod, etc. – allow us to watch ourselves and other spectators act on an old computer screen, as if we were on a surveillance video.
The form of the work, the armoire-object seen as the symbol of old age and forgetfulness, opens up a space of reflection about the obsolescence of the technologies presented here. The armoire as the space of conservation and memory pays homage to these old devices that were revolutionary in their day.
A technological handyman, Éric Bernaud (1964-) is an author, producer, videographer and designer. His practice hinges on the notion of System D. He often uses everyday objects in his creations that he repurposes from their customary function in order to create animations and installations.
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