Stromboli Research Expedition is a project from Aurelian Ammon, Carlo Natter & Michael Schönenberger. It was initially developed in 2017 at the ZHdK, the University of the Arts in Zurich, during the module Soft Architecture. This repository includes files for the reinterpretation of the project for the ZHdK Highlights exhibition.
This installation is the end result of an idea we‘ve developed during our stay on the Italian volcanic island Stromboli and as part of the third semester Interaction Design course soft architecture. We had the fortunate opportunity to visit and work on Stromboli for a few days. Those days were filled with quite a few new impressions and experiences. While on the island we observed the unique formations of rocks, surfaces, and structures we found all throughout the island with the looming presence of the volcano all around us. A feeling you can‘t quite shake o when standing on the soil of Stromboli, an uncertainty, an instability and a constant question of what if there is an eruption. Not only did it make us think about catastrophes but also about how we humans settle on lands, how nature expands itself and the usual timeframe required for both of these processes. While we humans and ourselves comparatively limited in the time we get to spend on this planet, we have found ways to shape the land to our need in the matter of a few short days. Nature, on the other hand, takes a much longer time to grow, adapt and shape the landscape. But what if nature accelerates its growth? What if we don‘t have time to respond to a natural phenomenon? Then we usually call it a catastrophe. Quickly expanding geological landmass descending down on a human civilization, overwhelming it and making it one with the landscape. Nature putting the usually dominant humans back into their place and making us part of its entirety.
Since we had to get rid of all the furniture and objects we used for the final presentation of the Soft Architecture module, we did not want to rebuild the whole scenery. Also we thought wasting another 5 litres of dispersion color would not be too environmental friendly, which is why we decided to realize our concept as a light and sound installation. Using a kinect that traces visitors around a cupboard, we symbolized the growth of our stone monster mapped onto the cupboard.
After starting the Mac Pro and the projectors, the system_starter script should open all the required programs automatically. For further information view the installation guidelines.