Niki Marathia
Previous
UX of human senses
Week 2 of 2
Team
Design a dance experience based on last week’s location. This project focuses on capturing and materialising the sensory attributes of a location such as its natural textures, ambient sounds, and atmospheric scents.

Ayesha Saleem
Diya Agrawal
Evander Wang
Jaime Santos
Niki Marathia
Sakshi Pansare
Vana Chowdhury

After a group discussion, we decided that we wanted to gather materials from the garden so we could use them later in the project. We collected leaves, acorns, berries, flowers, and recorded sound clips of footsteps, people talking, and St Paul’s bells.

Figure 1. Reflection Garden EC4M 9AF.
Figure 2. Materials we collected from the garden.
We approached our first brief in an explorative way, trying to figure what resources were available to us. We were not sure how to use the materials we collected, but we knew that we wanted to start using the university’s facilities, so we decided to book the photography studio and make a film.

Figure 3. Setting up the photography studio.
Figure 4. All hands on deck filming our video.
Figure 5. The team helping Evander with transitions.
Figure 6. Diya on lighting. Taken by Evander Wang.
Figure 7. Trying out props. Taken by Diya Agrawal.
Figure 8. Preparing our props. Taken by Diya Agrawal.
Figure 9. Checking our footage. Taken by Ayesha Saleem.
Figure 10. Helping with props. Taken by Evander Wang.
Figure 11. Still from our video.
Drawing from the fountain reflecting the cathedral, the centrepiece of our location, we decided to work with a theme of reflection. To experiment with this idea, we each brought reflective objects in the studio. Amongst them were: a silver tray, a spoon, a small mirror, a big mirror, a milk jug, silver earrings, a belt, and aluminium foil. They made up our final film:

Figure 9. Our final film.


In the film, we used our materials and objects instinctively, flowing between them to capture the busy stillness of our location. To bridge the world of the film with the design studio, we built an installation from the objects and materials seen in the video.   

Figure 10. Full view of our installation.
Figure 11. Installation close up. Taken by Mary Mehtarizadeh.
Figure 12. Playing with reflections.


Room for growthThis brief gave us a chance to get to know each other for the first time and to be introduced to the course. Using the photography studio was a good way to start familiarising ourselves with the university, and to laugh off any awkwardness around having to dance. In hindsight, we could have used the backdrop more precisely, so the frame stayed within it in all shots.

I am really happy that we did not shy away from dancing in our experience. During feedback on presentation day, it was noted that our movements and the film’s audio lacked a bit of energy. If I were to develop this experience further, I would experiment with more dynamic movements and sounds to explore how they might reflect the sensory qualities of Reflection Garden differently.

We explored our way to a final outcome both playing to our strengths and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. In future projects, I would like to spend more time doing research at the start, to help us establish why we are approaching a brief in a particular way.

On presentation day, a few people also felt that our installation sat apart from the video. One of our tutors suggested projecting the film onto the installation wall, or directly onto the reflective objects. I think this would have made the experience much more interesting and immersive.

During the presentation, a silver earring that was hung on the installation wall came loose. As a tutor stepped onto the aluminium foil to look more closely at the wall, they stood on it. This became a huge learning moment for me: to always ensure that any space I create is safe for the people interacting with it.