• Wortarbeit

    Multi-touchscreen installation at Grimmwelt Kassel, Germany, 2015

    Words are not static. They don’t have fixed meanings. Language is constantly evolving and will continue to.

    The famous German Dictionary (1838–1854/1961) by the Brothers Grimm attempts to create a “natural history of words” by focussing on associations and connections between the words rather than their abstract definitions.

    Located in the newly opened Grimmwelt Kassel, Germany, “Wortarbeit” attempts to capture the visitors’ associations with words, in reference to the work of the Brothers Grimm. Within a predefined set of formulas (word connections), one word has to be explained by another word entered by the visitor. The results is a chain that grows endlessly word by word.

    While one touchscreen is waiting for input, the visitors can explore the existing chain of words in various views on the other screens: chronologically, alphabetically, by popularity and through the semantic net, which reveals the complexity of the definitions entered by the visitors.

    Visitors can also extend an independent chain of words in english.

    The installation was designed and developed in collaboration with TheGreenEyl, Berlin, media planning by Stefan Helling.

    Work
    Screen Design, Java/OpenGL/Shader programming, multi-screen synchronisation

    Photos
    Markus Lerner

  • Mouse Mirror Maze

    Abstract computer game, 2002

    This experimental game is the digital equivalence of a real mirror maze. In this case the actor is not a person, but the mouse cursor.

    On a black screen you see only the edges of a two-dimensional mirror maze in the form of white points. As you start the game, the virtual reflections of the cursor appear, created by the invisible mirrors. The mirrors can be orthogonal or diagonal.

    The aim is to navigate the cursor through the system as quickly as possible in order to find the still unknown exit. On every collision with a mirror penalty points are added. The final score is calculated from the duration and the number of collisions. The lower the value, the better the player.

    Work
    Idea, concept, design, Flash programming

    Assignment
    Process: Create a Computergame.

    Interactive application