1/0 A/B
Artist
Designer
Programmer
1/0 A/B is an experimental interactive art installation that encourages the audience to consider their ability to read latent contextual information in facial expressions.
The audience looks at tiled footage of multiple people answering the same yes-or-no question and tries to correctly choose which question was asked from two presented options.
The aim is to capture the subtlety, authenticity and expressive range of facial expressions, and to contrast these with the seemingly binary and dualistic nature of answering yes-or-no questions. Further, in presenting the audience with a choice between two possible options, A and B, the game asks us to take our complex interpretation of facial expression and process it into another binary calculation, like a collapsing wave function on the ocean of meaning that lies between the 1 and 0 of yes-or-no.
"1/0 A/B" is an exploration of the tension between the rich, nuanced nature of human thought and decision-making, as revealed by facial expressions, when contrasted with the binary simplicity required in a yes-or-no response. In restricting the participants to a simple yes or no, much of their thought process and emotional consideration is revealed in the face. "1/0 A/B" tests if the confidence and doubt, morality and utility, levity and solemnity, that are shared across the faces in the grid are enough to allow the audience to intuit the correct choice.
The project began as an experimental film focused on facial expressions. The inclusion of an interactive element primarily serves to encourage the audience to look more closely at the facial expressions, individually and across the grid, and consider their meaning deeply. When asked to respond and provide an input, people absorb and interpret the presented information more deeply and critically. In essence, "1/0 A/B" invites contemplation on the limitations and challenges of reducing a complex idea or feeling in to a simple black-and-white choice, urging the audience to reflect on the intricacies lost in the process and prompting a reconsideration of the ways in which we make choices, and how our choices are intertwined with our identities.