Respire to Rise, 2024

Interactive Installation
Acrylic, Airpump,  Arduino, Humidity Sensor, Balloon

Respire to Rise is a set of four sculptural installations. Each box in the set features carved drawings of the artist's initial sketches, symbolizing the creative process. The tops of these boxes are topped with frosted, curved acrylic, vacuum-formed into a soft shape. This design not only aesthetically pleases but also guides the balloons back to the center of the box. A key interactive element of this artwork is audience participation. Each box is equipped with a sensor that activates an internal air pump, causing a small balloon to float. At the side of each box, the sensor is placed on a stand waiting to be picked up by the audience. This sensor is triggered by the breath of a participant, emphasizing the initiative and bodily participation of the audience. The four boxes interact with each other, creating a playful air dance with the balloons moving in a seemingly improvised symphony.

Positioned at the beginning of the exhibition's second section, Invisible Interplay, this piece serves as an introduction, making visitors aware of their breath and its metaphorical significance in the context of the subsequent artworks. The piece resonates with Foucault's concepts of power, highlighting its immanence and the way it can be influenced by subtle, non-subjective forces, much like the balloons' flight paths altered by minor disturbances. Collectively, these boxes symbolize the power of community. Through audience interaction, the artwork conveys that everyone has the ability to partake in and influence the dynamics of power, as natural and integral as breathing.