Bark—Skin of Trees

Bark—Skin of Trees is a multisensory exhibition about the changeability of an apparently dead material.

The characteristic Bark—Skin of Trees scales give evidence to the brisk cell production and show us a freeze frame of the constant change of a living being. This project combines the haptics of analogue bark exhibits with interactive real-time renderings via projection and in virtual space, as well as with ambient noise from the forest where the pieces were found.

Touching the bark, various actions are triggered, such as a punctual wavering at the hand position or fine particles streaming out of the surface and following the hand. In virtual reality, this digital bark is positioned on a digital table in the exact same place as a real table with the physical piece in real space. The confusion between visual and haptic experience plays with the viewer’s expectations, intensifies the material’s perception of the suggests a more careful dealing with nature.

Information is offered on three layers: the exhibition, folding posters with the most important data, and a website with detailed information. The work is Thiemo Frömberg’s result of an information design course by Daria Jelonek in his 5th semester at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and was realized with the HTC Vive, several Leap Motion hand tracking sensors, and the Software TouchDesigner.