onClose()
BY Hugo Yeung
interactive, algorithmic video installation
onClose() is an interactive video installation as a reflection on the act of remembering. A fuzzy, seemingly chaotic moving image is placed in front of the spectator, who will be invited to close their eyes and try to remember a certain location or scenario from the past. While their eyes are shut, the fuzzy images in front will slowly transform and become clearer over time, until the spectator decides to open their eyes, they will catch a glimpse of the clear images, before they quickly dissolve back into their original distorted state. The experience reflects on the act of memory recollection and aims to accent on moments of sensual reconstruction from the mind.
onClose() is developed from a custom computer software which performs image spectral analysis. By foregrounding and manipulating lower-level data (e.g. image pixels, temporal linearity etc) from audio-visual information as a means to experiment new aesthetic qualities of the medium, which is an ongoing exploration following the artist’s earlier works. The piece also utilizes basic principles of facial recognition to track facial features, hence the activities of the spectator’s eyes are detected in order for the software to interact with.
onClose() incorporates a facial recognition software, and thus the performance of the art piece may be affected by the use of facial masks. It is recommended to avoid covering your forehead and ears, and/or to use skin-coloured or transparent medical facial masks for a better experience.
Hugo Yeung
Hugo Yeung Ming-him is an emerging digital artist exploring the possibilities of algorithms and computation as artistic media to expand the audio-visual aesthetics of cinematic experience. He debuted his solo show in 2016, and showcased his work at GENERATE! Festival for electronic arts 2017, Germany. Yeung was a commissioned artist at the Jockey Club ifva Everywhere Carnival in September 2018. In November 2018, he completed a month-long double-solo on Expanded Cinema with Wong Chun-hoi at the 6th Edition of the Writing Machine Collective. Hugo Yeung graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in New Media from the School of Creative Media, the City University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Floating Projects Collective since 2015.
