Abstract transformations of forbidden dance.

In this piece, gestural movements of dance are preserved but recoded as an interconnected set of paisley shapes. This traditional symbol represents life and eternity and serves as a personal symbol of uprising for the Iranian-born artist. The dance would be recorded and the movements paired with specific points on the vector rendering, multiplied and translated in space as a kaleidoscopic rendering to disguise the dancing human female form so objectionable in the context where it is to be displayed. However, the human form can still be discerned by keen observers.

The piece will respond to onlookers in two ways:

1. Encourage movement through mimicry. The piece’s recorded dance will be suspended when an onlooker approaches the interactive space. The paisley pattern will first come to a rest before it begins to follow the onlooker’s movements to indicate the potential for interactivity. Once they exit the interactive space, the recorded dance will resume control of the pattern’s movements.
2. Encourage exploration through sound control. Sounds mapped to the paisleys will mashup music from the Western and Middle Eastern worlds. The volume of each node will be controlled by “aggressiveness” of that node’s movement in space, computationally defined as a radical change in x and y coordinates over time.

The movements required to interact with the piece are dance movements. The process of exploring projection’s responsive feedback transforms the onlookers into dancers, removes them from their immediate environment and cultural mores, and implicates them as unwitting subversives.

Requirements