Concept: In this project I explore the dynamic relationship between playful gestures in the physical world and those in the ubiquitous spaces of the virtual.

At very early points in pre-history, it was the wheel and then the rope and the pulley that contributed to defining cultures and power relationships between civilizations. Then the age of Industrialization, which was supposed to liberate man from machines, made him a further victim to those machines by making him labour on them. Probably the world of computing intensifies these processes by taking him further away from that raw physicality of experiences.

By experimenting with strings, I was trying to look at how a simple movement, a pull of a string, could create an experience which plays with human perception, and yet gives back to us the joy of physical manipulation. In many parts of the world, the act of pulling a piece of string moves stone, water, grinds grain and weaves fabric. Could this simple, yet often tiring physical action lead us towards different interactive experiences in the virtual world and yet retain that sense of “doing” ? Can one build stories and play games in the virtual world through this simple gesture?

By altering the associations we have with objects, actions and environments in the physical world or the way we react to certain technology, the idea is to evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act – the way we perceive the world. And technology can help in surprising and stimulating our responses and interactions with the mundane objects we use and activities we perform in our everyday life.

Duration: 5 weeks [November - December 2003]