Gusts We Create
Gusts We Create is an interactive installation that visualizes the invisible ripples of our movements through space. The work features a responsive field of abstract elements reminiscent of wind-bent grass, which respond dynamically to audience presence and motion. As viewers move through the space, their movements are captured through optical flow analysis and translated into force vectors that influence an underlying fluid simulation, creating a cascading effect that extends far beyond the individual's immediate vicinity. The installation transforms the exhibition space into a shared sensory environment where our physical presence becomes visible not just as occupation of space, but as active influence that shapes the collective experience. Premiered during the pandemic at the "Digital Art Now: Alternative Realities + NFT" exhibition at Akbank Sanat in Istanbul, the work gained additional resonance as a meditation on connection during a time of physical distancing.
Concept
This work explores our relationship with shared space at a time when spatial awareness became heightened by necessity. By creating a system where human movement generates visible ripples that extend beyond our immediate presence, Gusts We Create reveals the often imperceptible ways we affect our surroundings and each other. The installation makes tangible the invisible currents we generate simply by existing and moving through the world.
The responsive environment serves as a metaphor for social interconnectedness—how our actions create effects that propagate beyond our immediate sphere, influencing others and the collective experience. This became particularly poignant during the pandemic, when maintaining physical distance paradoxically heightened our awareness of shared air and space. The installation offers a visual dialogue between physically separated individuals, as the ripples from one person's movements eventually reach and influence the experience of others.
The biomimetic quality of the visualization—evoking tall grass bending in the wind—connects this digital experience to natural phenomena, reminding us that these principles of influence and interconnection exist throughout natural systems. This creates a contemplative space where viewers can reflect on both their individual impact and their participation in larger patterns of collective movement and shared experience.
Technical Details
At the core of Gusts We Create is a multi-layered technical system that transforms human movement into cascading visual effects. The process begins with computer vision technology that captures audience movement through a camera system. This raw movement data undergoes optical flow analysis, which maps the direction and intensity of motion throughout the frame.
The resulting motion map feeds into a fluid dynamics simulation that adds natural physical properties to the movement data—creating realistic turbulence, eddies, and propagation patterns. This approach ensures that the visual response feels organic rather than mechanical, mimicking how energy disperses through natural mediums like air or water.
The fluid simulation then drives the behavior of the abstract visual field—a system of elongated elements that respond to the flow vectors with varying degrees of resistance and flexibility, similar to how grass responds to wind. This creates a visually rich environment where movement energy visibly propagates through space, diminishing gradually with distance but potentially combining with other movement sources to create complex, emergent patterns.
The system maintains a careful balance between immediate responsiveness and sustained effect. A viewer's quick gesture creates an initial strong response that gradually dissipates into the broader field, allowing for both dramatic individual impact and subtle collective interplay. This technical implementation supports the conceptual focus on both individual agency and interconnected experience.
Experience
Viewers encountering Gusts We Create often begin with experimental gestures—testing how their movements translate into visual response. This initial exploration typically evolves into more deliberate interaction as they recognize the nuanced relationship between their actions and the system's response. Many discover the possibility of creating "conversations" with other viewers through the propagating waves of influence, using the installation as a medium for non-verbal communication across physical distance.
The installation creates a contemplative space where viewers become more conscious of their movements and their impact on the shared environment. This heightened awareness often extends beyond the artwork itself, as visitors report greater sensitivity to their physical presence in subsequent spaces they occupy.
In the context of its premiere during the pandemic, Gusts We Create took on additional layers of meaning. At a time when we became acutely aware of shared air and the potential invisible spread of particles from our bodies, the installation offered a benign visualization of this phenomenon—transforming anxiety about invisible influence into aesthetic appreciation of our inevitable interconnection.
Credits
Concept and Implementation: Osman Koç
Exhibition: Digital Art Now: Alternative Realities + NFT
Curators: Zeynep Arinc and Selcuk Artut
Venue: Akbank Sanat, Istanbul, Turkey
Exhibition Dates: March 1 - May 7, 2022
Gusts We Create represents the intersection of computational fluid dynamics, computer vision, and interactive design, demonstrating how digital systems can make visible the invisible ways we influence and shape our shared environments through our mere presence and movement.