Residency: María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde
María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde will develop during their residency at the Centro de Arte 'Environment Dress', the winning project of Next Things 2015 – Conducta, a joint call by Telefónica I + D and LABoral
María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde, artist collective working since 2009 under the name uh513, have started their residency at Plataforma 0. LABoral Production Center, where they are developpping Environment Dress, the winning project of NEXT THINGS 2015 – CONDUCTA, the Forth Global Art & Technology Challenge, a joint call for Telefónica I + D and LABoral.
With Environment Dress they propose to create a smart dress that captures environment data to measure the aggressiveness around us and analysing how it affects our mood and behaviour.
This wearable dress will be equipped with sensors to analyse questions such as variations in noise, temperature, atmospheric pressure, ultraviolet radiation or the amount of carbon monoxide present in our daily life. All this information will be transferred, via Bluetooth or open wifi networks, to a mobile phone connected to the Internet and it will generate a big database set up with the geolocated references collected. These data will be shown to the user wearing the smart dress, or to anyone connecting to the project’s web or app, through an “amiable” visualisation.
Enviroment Dress will be a dress developed in open code, with free hardware and software. The projects website will host as well all the information needed for anyone to material needed to build one’s own dress.
María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde will develop this project in an artistic residency of six months, that will be distributed between LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, in Gijón, during two months, and Telefónica I+D in Barcelona, during four months. Telefónica R&D will provide a work space in its location, equipment as well as access to technological knowledge and Telefonica's technology platform. LABoral will provide lab space, equipment and technical support as well as access and exchange with other artists and creators at the Centre. LABoral also provides accommodation in Gijón.