WALDEMEYER AND O’SHEA PRESENT: TRACES

TRACES IS AN INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION DESIGNED FOR THE DEBUT OF THE SCIROCCO - THE NEW VOLKSWAGEN SPORTS COUPE. INSPIRED BY LONG-EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY, IT MAKES THE STREAMING TAILLIGHTS OF A CAR AT NIGHT VISIBLE IN REAL-TIME.

The installation works by projecting the moving image onto the floor of the room from the ceiling. The image itself, created digitally, depicts the red taillights of invisible cars racing around a track, as they would appear on an aerial, long-exposure photograph. The actual racetrack design is based on the Oschersleben course in East Germany, chosen because of its aesthetic distinctiveness. As viewers obstruct the racetrack, the racers become disorientated and attempt to avoid the intruders.

The interactive element works by a camera – also in the ceiling – that detects infra red light. The camera, blind to the projection, can therefore map out the movements of people in the room, feeding back to the computer-generated image that the racecourse should change around them. The result is a playful experience; as you walk, these invisible cars will skirt around your feet as they continue their race.

The inspiration for the project came from the striking contrast between the tranquil beauty of long exposure photographs of car lights and the fast, whirring, dramatic car race itself. The installation brings the hidden beauty of long-exposure – invisible to the human eye – into real-time actuality: a few exhilarating minutes reduced into pure streaming light. This captures the ethereal quality of movement and eliminates all other visual and auditory aspects, providing a clear focus on the aesthetic journey of the car. The charm of the work lies in its abstract simplicity: It enables us to view a car race in an entirely new light.

Traces is part of a group of designs created for Scirocco Studios aiming to take the car on a conceptual journey. Five designer teams – Moritz Waldemeyer and Chris O’Shea, Phillippe Malouin, Ben Wilson, Hudson-Powell and Kinga Burza were asked to design installations, furniture or video art that could launch a series of static spaces into motion. Works alongside Traces included circular chairs that rock bonnet-and-boot cabinets that roll, flowing screens that surround you, and a carpet cut like a track. The project was conceived and curated by Dan Ross and Yorgo Tloupas of Intersection magazine. The Scirocco Studios hosted eight events all over the UK in August and September 2008 where these designs were on display.