Installation using C++, openFrameworks,
openCV, and custom software
In Hand from Above, passersby are
briefly transported to a different reality.
The crowds walking near the large-screen
LED monitor are broadcast
live on the screen, but instead of the
expected reflection, they see images
of themselves being tickled, assaulted,
or flicked away by an enormous hand,
as though by some colossal deity.
The reactions of the installation’s
unwitting participants have varied:
some run away, others flinch, but many
interact with the hand, waving at the
screen to attract attention. In every
case, people are encouraged to pause
in their normal routines and engage with
a virtual presence and with each other.
Hand from Above was commissioned
by the Foundation for Art and Creative
Technology and the Liverpool City Council
for BBC Big Screen; it premiered during
the Abandon Normal Devices (AND)
Festival in Liverpool.
