An interface for crickets and humans to enjoy each other. Domestic house crickets live in a protected bubble, which provides them food, water, warmth and entertainment. The nature scenery video projected onto their sphere is activated by their chirping sounds. When humans are nearby, their video image is captured, miniaturized, and projected into the landscape visible to the crickets. The small scene, including our images is re-projected as a large, live scene so we see ourselves, with the crickets, in a movie together at a similar scale. We are allowed to enter into each other’s worlds and interact in ways that encourage alternative perspectives. I hope that we also ask questions about what domestic crickets want: Do they want to see humans in their world? Do they want see videos of nature? Do we? Perhaps we share more in common with the House Cricket than we might first want to admit.
This project premiered in Lüedenscheid, Germany at LichtRouten 2013, an International Forum of Light in Art and Design. September 27 – 6 October 2013. Artistic directors: Bettina Pelz and Tom Groll. The theme was “The Art of Projection” as the citywide installations took place throughout areas of urban redevelopment.
Artists in the show: Jürgen Albrecht, Refik Anadol, Atsara, Catherine Berndt, Cuppetelli + Mendoza, Christoph Girardet, Hartung + Trenz, Joseph O. Homes, Dieter Kiessling, Jakob Mattner, László Moholy-Nagy, Klaus Obermaier, Rainer Plum, Quayola, Diana Ramaekers, Nicolas Schöffer, Robert Sochacki, Max Sudhues and Amy Youngs.
Thanks to the LichtRouten Lüedenscheid directors, technicians and staff for their support and assistance with my project. Thanks to the Ohio State University faculty research enhancement grant for additional support to help create this work.