Population Infinite: AR filter

This week I worked on an collaborative art project with Rui. Inspired by several performance art based around identity, our piece attempts to create a filter which represents our contemporary identities.

Artist Statement:

“Our faces are used to be the most identifiable symbol of ourselves, but nowadays, the information and data we exposed online are playing the key role. Whether the data is representing or misrepresenting us, it is the exiting form we live on the web.

I want to convert the data into a certain form of a pattern, using them as a camera filter. We are no longer recognized by our skin color or faces, the data is reshaping our identity. People may be cataloged by their online performance and preference.”

The artwork itself consist of abstract patterns generated based on someone’s internet usage data. We considered 3 stats for this project: internet usage frequency, active vs passive (ratio of posting or consuming content), and the types of websites/apps used. The 3 elements are represented by 3 graphical elements which changes based on someone’s stat in each category.

The graphics were generated in P5js and then exported into Spark AR to be made into AR face filters. We weren’t able to find a direct way for someone to input their data directly to influence the filters, so for the first iteration we manually entered the stats onto P5js and created two patterns to be manually transformed into AR filters onto P5.

The two filters we created can be tested in the links below:

PATTERN1 https://www.instagram.com/ar/3939269516088252/?ch=ZGI3ZWViODUyNjZjMmZlZDI5YzE4YjIyNTZiYzYyMGI%3D

PATTERN 2 https://www.instagram.com/ar/330157174953374/?ch=NTcxZjI3NWJjMThiNzBlZDQ3ZTU0OGFjZmYyNmIzNTQ%3D