Mixed-media interactive installation

Co-created with Dror Margalit and Xioran Chen

Actor: Zoe Margolis

2022

Xaya is on a multiverse quest to find the most egocentric universe - the kind that makes it easy for her to extract and eat as many souls as she can. And she is in luck... today she stumbles on our Earth 488, one of the most egocentric ones out there. But Xaya is in the mood to play: she gives you a chance to play a game to redeem your soul.


 
Multiverse Soul Quest is a mixed-media interactive installation, which was first exhibited at the ITP Halloween Expo 2022. In this installation the subject is invited to ring the doorbell which prompts Xaya to come and extract their soul in a form of a candy.



She then offers the participant a chance to redeem their soul by putting their hands inside a black box and trying to find a button or a dial to win. However, the contents of the box are not so easy to withstand as one

If the participant finds the right button their soul will be returned to them from the treasure chest nearby. However, if they find the wrong button... well in that case all AI generated hell breaks loose.



This installation uses two light beam sensors, rotary encoder, buttons, and a servo motor powered treasure chest with automatic opening and closing lid mechanism. The controls are programmed using Arduino Nano IoT 33 and the visuals and logic are created using p5.js