DINN

Fear Despair Anger Joy

DINN - Started as a combination of my reflections on two subjects:

1. Emotions - 2. Technology

1- Emotions: I was curious to understand more completely our human emotions. I noticed a strong difference in the identity of emotion between our inner feelings and our expressions of them. In our inner world, our emotions are sensitive, complex, and multifaceted influences on us. But something strange happens when we express them. They flatten as soon as they imprint on our faces and leave our mouths. The emotion befalls great risk of becoming a stereotype of itself in the eyes and ears of the beholder.

To me, this feels a little tragic. as it could distort a lot of the nuance and beauty of who we are into scenes of misunderstanding.

I wished for the existence of tools to express and interpret the nuance of emotions more completely.

2- Technology: At the time I first constructed the thought surrounding DINN, I was doing an innovation residency in South France. I was surrounded by futurist thinkers and technology entrepreneurs, Their perspectives on life and technology, as impressive as they were. seemed lacking in sensitivity and sincere creativity regarding how these technologies could impact our lives. There was a strong focus on practicality for the current time. increasing efficiency, And the realization of shallow aspects of science fiction. I wished for the existence of a style in technology experimentation that took a wide introspective, (almost abstract) approach to what technology could mean for us.

Later, by chance. I found a technology: a digital program that can instantly detect and detail different levels of emotion in human voices. Beautiful! What a great tool this is! I thought. A sort of translator to help us understand each other better.

Then I went to look at what it was being used for: The only thing I could find was that it was being proposed as a microphone to be placed in busy public spaces. This way, the local municipality could gather data to monitor public order, If something like a protest would arise, it would help them anticipate their response ahead of time.

.... NOOOOO!! such a shame. such a deformed use of beautiful potential.

Well, I should try and imagine a better use then. What kind of experiences could be made with this technology? I was thinking of ways to confront us with emotional stereotypes, I was thinking of therapeutic spaces where we could kind of converse with our own emotions, and I envisioned large sculptures for us to talk to and help us interpret our emotional states. This seemed a perfect study to infuse with both my thoughts on Emotions and Technology.

I made some drawings and then kind of sat on it for a while. Until one day, I shared all these thoughts with my dear friend, the great industrial designer and fantastic barista, Carlos Gonzalez Moreno. Who said, ''Ah! let's make a silly little prototype of just one of your ideas.'' I protested at first because I didn't want to make an imperfect version of something. But he was right, He convinced me it was already great just to have an impression. We pinpointed one idea: to create four extremified representations of basic emotions and have them react to you in their facial expressions based on the sound of your voice, As to offer a sort of guided meditation on the nature of emotional expressions.

We Ended up with a funny, hand-operated, 2.5d Object. The automatic interaction was imagined.

With this prototype, We received a little grant from a local culture fund in Eindhoven to continue developing it.

Carlos was interested in continuing with me, so we rented a studio space in the local Art Space called T56.

This was a great moment.

The technology to recognize emotion through sound was not open source, and it proved impossible to get our hands on it.

So, we would have to recreate it ourselves, It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be ok if it came close.

I planned it out and created the visual aspects, while Carlos handled the coding and most of the electronics.

After a few months of work, we finished the four busts you see on the top of the page.

We opened up the space for people to visit the sculptures in a private setting. Where they could shout, cry, scream, and laugh with them for as long as they wanted. With this, I felt we already succeeded in creating a beautiful, poetic use for the technology and offering something that gives perspective on our emotions.

We started exhibiting DINN in different contexts and places and played with it in various ways.

My brother, a great singer-songwriter, came to play music with the objects to see what kind of atmosphere they would create. (this was not such a success, The Chaos DINN created matched neither interestingly well nor interestingly wrong with his style) DINN appeared in a video of local rapper and videomaker K lewW, who was our neighbor in the building and, like me. enjoyed to working at night. I got to know him and his friends well. It was great fun sharing our creative processes.

We also were invited to place DINN in the background of a classical concert in a church, where the director, upon seeing the jittery reactions to sounds in person, kindly asked us if we could turn it off after all. and let it be just a static visual. which we of course just as kindly refused. Then, naturally, During the concert. It seemed there were some spontaneous technical difficulties with the house spotlights shining on DINN.

Sometime later, We met Ildikó Horváth while presenting DINN at a Makerfair in Eindhoven. We were feeling a little lost in this setting, between the dancing drones, lego cars, and fire-breathing r2d2s. Until all the way across from us in the huge industrial hall we found beautiful large ceramic objects, that would hum and buzz responding to touch, creating an intimate interaction with the objects. These objects were Ildikó's. I found her work resonating closely with DINN and my thoughts on technology and poetic interactions.

Some weeks later, the owner of our Atelier building, an artist named Luk Sponselee, offered us the entrance hall to hold any exhibition or event we wanted. I remembered Ildikó, and we set out to create a group exhibition, also under the name DINN, showcasing works that employed poetic and emotionally sensitive uses of technology.

We ended up with four artists, excluding Carlos and myself. two of whom I had met 2 years before in Prague.

Ildikó Horváth

Alexandre Andrada

Tsang Anthony

Quintus Glerum

Unfortunately, the exhibition itself was canceled just a few days before the opening, when all the works were already present. This was due to the announcement of a new COVID-19 lockdown.

However! It was not a complete loss! Carlos and I had already conducted some digital interviews with the artists in the program, VR chat. Which were very enjoyable and inspiring conversations.

We chose to use VR chat as another example of technology that could offer a beautiful surreal context if used poetically. I was also curious to discover whether speaking to the artists in this context of a surreal digital stroll in the park, with absurd avatars and visually absurd conversation partners: would it help them relax and speak freely about their thoughts and feelings on their work and practice?

Intervieuws:

Alexandre Andrada Ildikó Horváth

Quintus Glerum Anthony Tsang

During what should have been the closing day for DINN , We hosted a little Illegal Corona concert.

Luk had invited a wonderful noise band to come play in T56. consisting of Taka Kagitomi , Israel Flores Bravo, Werner Klompen, and Uwe Juchum. We placed our DINN sculptures in the middle to be both a member of the band and an instrument.

It was a beautiful moment, Finally, the masks had found their ''musical'' home. A great outburst to remember it by.

After, Carlos and I felt that DINN as it was, could be let to rest.

At this moment, the sculptures are for sale, with their electronics half eroded by extensive use.

Should I ever continue with DINN, it would be in an entirely different form, Here are two contenders :

DINN the Politician :

DINN the space :

One huge mechanical mask capable of showing a wide range of emotions through its facial expressions. The sounds of voices in the room will dictate its emotional state, the change should happen gradually.

What would happen if such a massive DINN mask were ceremoniously placed in a governmental congress hall? During debates and speeches, there would be a visual indicator in the space reflecting the emotions with which we speak to the people. Would this help us give place to what is said?

A large echo chamber into which you can shout and scream. But once the echo reflects back to you, DINN will enhance the intensity of your emotional expression. The chamber will remember your emotions in future interactions, allowing you to gradually build a rumbling, echoing symphony of your own intensified emotional sounds.