The work was made as a collaboration with artist Julie Tocquille at a residence in Rouen ( France) within the Creart network.
On the main panel, we first discover a decorative wallpaper, a monumental image of Lake "Plitvice" in Croatia. This image could symbolize the mental image that Julie Tocqueville has of Croatia, country of origin of Vitar Drinkovic, country where she never went herself. Here, on a wooden panel reminiscent of billboards along the roadsides, we discover the "construction" of a mental image; as an attempt to make non-existent memories. Except that here the memory is not fixed, on the contrary, and it is thanks to the spectator that the installation takes all its meaning, activating the technological elements entirely thought and manufactured by Vitar. Thus, by seizing the surprising stethoscope of the artist and placing it on his own heart, the spectator animates the panel, makes it vibrate to the rhythm of its heartbeat and brings to life the ersatz memory.
The action does not stop there, because by placing around his waist and on its finger the additional sensors of the installation, the spectator can also, thanks to his own breath and his own emotions, direct the luminous intensity emanating from the device. The belt around the waist records the movements that occur during deep breaths and changes the intensity of the lamp. The clip on the finger records small changes in the skin's conductivity (moisture), resulting in variations in the color of the light. Thus, if the spectator is relaxed, the colors will be cold, whereas they will take rather red tones if the spectator is nervous.
Our state of mind affects the chemistry of our body and these devices allow us to become aware of it and push us to pay attention to our physical and psychological condition.
Adjoining the installation, a banana tree is also connected to a luminous device. An Arduino system placed on the sheets and connected to an RGB reflector collects the information transmitted by the plant in the form of electrical pulses. Plants in their own way can see, communicate, adapt. They have memory, they breathe and move. Each of this information is here transmitted to the sensors that translate all these changes through a variation of the color of the projector connected to the device. The viewer can interact with the plant by gently touching the leaves and observing the plants reactions.
At a time when everyone lives at a frantic pace, the time seems to come here to stop before an additional advertising insertion, which for once will allow everyone to become aware of his own being, the present moment, his relationship with his environment, his relationship with the plant world as well as his imagination, his dreams of fantasy exoticism. It will also be a question of creating a parallel that will push the viewer to realize his analogies with the plant kingdom and will surely lead him to consider his relationship with his environment.
( text: Julie and Vitar )
