Fangyi (Yiyi) Yang




Water Sense (2021)



Interactive Media 
Water Sense is an interactive installation that personify water as a living being. It all began with a question: How might water sense us?

Either deliberately or unconsciously, we interact with natural substances such as air, water, and soil perpetually. Water Sense uses water as a medium to investigate the boundaries of the natural and the man-made. The projection is a remixed video of multiple scenarios of water’s existence, impacted by humans.











How might Water feel about their possible destiny?

Inspiration From Interacting With Water


While I was observing the water flow, hearing the sounds they make, and focusing my sensations, I started seeing water as a living being and wanted to initiate a conversation with them.  

The video remix consists of water in different contexts due to human impact. These moving images of water will be projected on water itself, to let water perceive what their destiny might be like with human existence.





 

Creating a Conceptual Ice Cube


Materials: water, humidifier, recycled paper box, head of blow dryer, reflective wraping paper, reflective tape. 









Iterations on Water Projection


Adjusting the ideal area of empty space to leave for the water vapor to form a screen. 






Building an Interactive Interface in MaxMSP


An interface where people can control the visibility of each of the individual video clips used in the remix. Here, we are once again manipulating water, but in this case we are altering the image of water that we want water to perceive. To what extent we desire to control the environment? How would the environment perceive our actions? Are we really in control? 








Performing Water Sense
















©Fangyi Yang 
2023