Henry Wu is an undergraduate student in the Computation Arts program at Concordia University. He started his professional career as a graphic and web designer in the region of Montreal before taking interest in 3D modeling. His designs have been broadly acclaimed in the communities he worked in. As an artist he works primarily with digital and print medium, and sometime would produce physical objects. Some of the themes and concepts he likes to works with include the exploration of self identity, the creation of identities, and the notion of privacy.

Artist Statement

I first got interested in the phenomenon of lost privacy after reading “Postscript on Control Societies” by Gilles Deleuze. As I read his views on how the capitalist society uses control and surveillance to keep the population in check, while hiding their true intent. I couldn’t help but agree with it as I look at the telecommunication and tracking systems that have infiltrated the population, leaking out our information and invade our privacy. He also noted that we shouldn’t question which type of society is harsher in terms of control, but how can we develop tools to counter these mechanism of control. I think that one of the main method of control that has done the best to silently integrate itself into our networked society are the locative media, and that is the reason I want to find means to counter them. As I try to come up with solutions I also think about how I can use the minimum of materials to achieve the maximum effect and result.

Sketches

Initial sketch

opening/closing

Using it

Why seek shelter

Visuals
http://fc56.deviantart.com/fs39/i/2008/316/6/d/Privatesol_design_concept_by_kyouhasuigetsu.jpg
http://fc82.deviantart.com/fs38/i/2008/316/7/f/eBlocker_demo_illustration_by_kyouhasuigetsu.jpg

What’s done so far:
Interactions Scenarios
Design sketches
Material Research
Observations
CV

Those who are obsessed with being clean, afraid of germs and such.
Those people are obsessed with being clean doing things such as washing their hands very frequently, avoid people who are sick etc. This project would make them feel more at eased as they’ll have a multilayered germ protection. As they move in their environment they would no longer feel the threat of germs and bacteria as their garments would act as a shield, it would also change some or their obsessive behavior such as washing hand, as they could lightly wipe their hand on their garment, unless they are excessively dirty.

Students/Workers
Student and workers spend long periods of the day in enclosed spaces such as classrooms, offices, public transport, etc. During time of the year such as the flu season those spaces are key areas where the germs spreads over a large population. Proof of that is seen when one collegue/classmate is sick some others usually catches it too. As recommended hygiene measure during these times are not always available, i.e. washing hands more frequently, they may not be able to or have the time to do so in those spaces. So again here they can use the silver fiber garments to stop the germs from spreading and growing.

The proposed line of silver fiber garment goes from underwear to the outer layers of clothings (shirt, pants, blouse, etc) in order to provide multilayered protection.

Some documents used during the research on silver fibers
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ARCHIVE/2004/FEBRUARY/Pages/Navy_SEAL3648.aspx
http://www.allanasmyth.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=95
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17972483
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n2g120j41r282124/
http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2004-11_08.asp

I had a second idea of making garments that would shelter someone from being located, tracked i.e. GPS, but after looking around at the other blogs, I found that someone had a similar idea. So then after thinking for a while, I thought, since it’s the cold season and all why not make garments that would shelter the wearer from germs? Did some research and found that something like that does exist but for specialized usages and nothing were produced for everyday use for the common public. The technology is basically ionized silver fiber woven into synthetic fibers or cottons, silver having antibacterial properties are commonly used in medical environment. Using these fabrics we can make whole range of clothing that are antibacterial, and also prevent the formation of body odors.

This project would be for those people who are clean freak and washes their hands 30 times a day to not get any germs. But it is also for the general public to promote a healthy environment during cold seasons or any other times. It is also for the active persons that doesn’t want their body to smell bad after exercising, and parent who doesn’t want their children to catch germs as they play around in their everyday environment.

Technologies: unsure yet looking into the possibilities

For who, why, shleter from what? It’s a device for people who gets annoyed, bothered when people are being innapropriate with the use of cellphones/wireless tech/electronics.

I think everyone in their life had encountered situations where someone would be extremely irritating with their use of cellphones (talking real loud, making a scene, etc), or leaving it on when they aren’t supposed to and then have the nerve to answer (meetings, movies, etc), or when you’re trying to converse with someone in a cafe and their aren’t listenning to you because they are surfing on the net wirelessly.

So what this device provides to them is a non aggressive (or less aggressive?) way of getting rid of these technological annoyance. Alternative use of that could be, to create some sort of private space where you can’t be tracked by most of the locative media, or as a mean to help you disconnect.

Concept sketch

In Locative Dystopia 2 I kind of agree with their idea that these new technologies presents many possibilities for the general user to expand and redefine their world, using these tools to open new horizons rather then oppress. If we are active with those media the possibilities are quite exciting if we think about it, but if we use them passively the way corporate entities would want us to then they loose their potential. Although like it is discussed later in the text, there will always be people who would abuse it, but I don’t think that should stop people with good intentions from trying.

I find the part where they brought up Deleuze text interesting, as I was quite familiar with it, having had to make an oral presentation of it back in CART 255, and I do see how locative media ties into Deleuze’s comment of the control society, locative media is being commercialized to docile consumers with which they can exert even more pervasive control over them without them neccesarily realizing it.

I think some of the projects presented in the essay is quite interesting, although in the case of Narcotourism, I don’t see why he thought it was neccesary to take drugs to change the vision of the world. Was he really doing it for art or did he just wanted to have some fun?

The project Drift and the notion of Hertzian space was interesting to me too, if I understood correctly Hertzian space  is continuous withouth boundaries seperating things, kind of like Christopher Alexander’s idea of wholeness and centers. Seeing everything as part of the whole and affecting each otehr instead of the world being made of parts with boundaries seperating them from each other. Apparently if you can look at the world in that way, you’ll experience something totally amazing, though I can’t tell since I haven’t reached that level of enlightment yet, mayeb someday!

Concerning the problems with location based services, I guess a lot of people are still reluctant to be trackable, of course it can serve a greater good but used in the wrong way it can have very negative effects too. For example being able to find a location of interest is good but then someone somewhere might find out where you are at a given moment, someone you might not want to have such knowledge. Unless there’s a way to garanty that they won’t be tracked for the wrong reason I don’t think anyone would willingly give out so much of their private zone.