Mind control design

Mind control design

An interactive design installation that triggers patterns by connecting to a user’s brain waves has recently returned from the 2011 Electronic Language International Festival (known as FILE) Festival in Brazil.

Victoria University graduate and tutor Ben Jack’s exhibit ‘Elucidating Feedback’, was listed as one of the highlights of the interactive installations at the festival by Wired.com.

To activate the installation, a person is seated in front of a large projection screen wearing a special brain-computer interface (BCI) headset which captures brain wave data. Audio as well as the patterns on screen adjust to reflect the user’s current state of mind.

“The more attention that is paid to the installation, the more pattern, order and detail is reflected in the video and audio—and a lapse in attention makes the pattern break back into static,” says Mr Jack.

Mr Jack says he was inspired by his experiences with meditation.

“The idea is that we create the finer details of our experience through the act of being attentive. The more we observe our environment, the more we discover, and the result of this active process is the creation of the rich details of our experience.

“My installation enables people to explore a set of infinitely complex and ever-changing landscapes by focusing their minds.”

Ben Jack is an artist and designer who works mainly in the area of generative and interactive media. Having recently finished his undergraduate degree in Media Design at Victoria University, he is now working as a teaching fellow at Victoria for a first year Creative Coding course.

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