Frozen in Time
Client: Westfield Group
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Collaborator: Stephen Palladino
Service: Design, Fabrication, Installation
Date Installed: 11/2018
Frozen in Time is a temporary touch sensor installation designed to spark an open conversation on climate change using play as an open-ended conversational tool. The work was commissioned to be exhibited during the winter months in Westfield Citrus Park mall. We achieved this by telling a story with a series of ice block-like pieces containing endangered or extinct arctic animals frozen within them. The frozen adventurer at the beginning of the space is holding up a sign explaining how to engage with the work in which the more you play, the quicker you can unfreeze the frozen animals.
Each block of ice contains touch sensor technology that plays a variety of sounds and noises when touched. There were five different touch sensor units containing seventy-two sensors. Each sensor is created using conductive paint within the illustration.
The installation saw nearly 500 users per day interact with it, and nearly 75% playing with multiple units for an extended period. The work sparked conversations, jam sessions, spontaneous dance parties, and more within a once passive and isolated space within the mall.
“This is truly magical, I can’t stop playing”
