On reflection

Since the first movie musical back in 1927, film audiences have delighted in seeing bodies in motion on the big screen. Movements etched into our minds.

Liza Minelli’s cabaret performance with a chair.

Gene Kelly singing joyously in the rain.

And the iconic lift scene in Dirty Dancing.

Thousands of poses, all contained within our minds and our bodies, now accessible in this interactive artwork.

Using a camera and machine learning, this installation tracks the participant’s movements and finds matching dance poses in musicals. When the participant stops moving, the clip from the matching musical starts playing.

Written in python with MediaPipe pose detection and openFrameworks.

Theo Papatheodorou / Jesse Wolpert

Theo Papatheodorou (PhD) is a creative technology enthusiast and Professor of Computational Media and Arts at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (GZ). Jesse Wolpert is an artist of the absurd and lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Together they form Random Quark, a creative technology studio that makes magical, surprising and meaningful interactions using cutting edge technology. Often sited in public spaces, their work is designed to encourage playful communication that opens a dialogue between participants. Their work is produced by combining artistic invention with an expertise in all forms of computational art and digital fabrication, from AI and generative algorithms to physical computing and rapid prototyping. Their works have featured at ISEA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Athens Digital Art Festival and they have received commissions from clients such as the UK’s NHS, Saatchi and Saatchi Wellness, HSBC, Tommy Hilfiger and the BBC.

Jake Zhang