Threatbox.us (2007)
Interactive installation: computer vision tracking system, robotic video projector, Web interface.
In the Threatbox.us installation, the visitor’s movement through the exhibition space is tracked by a computerised vision system that drives a robotic video projector, which at times seemingly attacks visitors with a movie frame.
A montage of violent excerpts from films, news media, and computer games—intercut with domestic scenes of people passively engaged in mass media entertainment—moves across the walls of the exhibition space in a fluid pattern.
When a visitor enters the computer’s field of vision, the robotic projector attacks her with the movie frame by moving towards her and transforming into a purple spotlight that pursues her. The visitor is tracked for a predetermined time or until they walk out of range.
The projection then moves back to the wall and continues to play the montage. Pointing to the connection between military, industry, and entertainment that characterises the digital medium, Sester turns the visitor into a target of violent imagery rather than a passive consumer.
