Borealis
Team members
He Zhu, Xiaojing Li, Jiaheng Wu
My role
Interactive design, Motion media design, video editing
Concept
Sea levels are rising, and oceans are becoming warmer. Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife, and freshwater supplies. From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.
Borealis is an interactive installation designed to uncover that global warming has hastened the rate at which glaciers melt into the sea. The concept is to reveal how people’s thoughtless acts can destroy the environment. Humans need to be aware of the results of their destructive behaviors.
It's an honour to have this exhibited at the Jepson Center for the Arts Museum, Savannah GA
How does it work
There are four stages of the whole process:
Stage 1: The installation glows with Northern lights, which look like a scene of icebergs.
Stage 2: After the installation detects audience, it goes into stage 2 where the light increases its brightness gradually and presents a color changing pattern. The speed of color change depends on the number of active sonar sensors.
Stage 3: 4 polar bears are standing on the icebergs with blink LEDs inside that attract users to pick them up. Once they pick up the polar bears, the installation performs a spread light and plays drop animations.
If all the polar bears are picked up, the light is gone. The melting motion is displayed and continued with a burning motion to urge people to return the polar bears.
Stage 4: The model will be reset after all four polar bears are returned to the designated place.
Working progress
Exhibition
