SoulRounded is a six-person interdisciplinary ETC project team collaborating with Jamaican -American artist Renee Cox, independent curator Jessica Gaynelle Moss, and the world -class contemporary art museum The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, PA. Using modern interactive technology, we aim to organically integrate the artist’s work to create an immersive, site-specific installation and experience that centers race, gender and identity while exploring the boundaries of technology and art.

Read more about the team at https://projects.etc.cmu.edu/soulrounded/about/

In the spring 2022 semester we got the opportunity to work with The Mattress Factory, independent curator Jessica Gaynelle Moss and internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Renee Cox. For this project, the team worked with Renee Cox to design and develop an installation that merges the power of digital media with Cox’s artistic vision and sensibilities for exhibition at The Mattress Factory in June 2022.

The team researched possible technical solutions for single or multi-channel installations, head mounted experiences, projection mapping, and other possible platforms that serve both the installation feasibility and the artistic integrity of the project. The team designed, implemented, and executed a production pipeline that brings this collaborative artistic vision to life. This project is exploratory by nature and the direction of the visuals and overall user experience were determined, in part, by the skillsets of our project team.

Read the original post at https://projects.etc.cmu.edu/soulrounded/postmortem/

An immersive experience of Black Bodies in Motion, Soul Culture consists of digitally manipulated black and white portraits that display self-similar fractal-like patterns. They create sculptural kaleidoscopes of the human body while exploring the power of symbols as elements of collective imagination. Bridging the gap between the old and new technology has brought on new challenges and endless possibilities. The simplicity and connectivity of the fractal concept is meant to engage the viewer in a profoundly different way, bringing a certain peace, reflection and joy. 

https://mattress.org/works/soul-culture/