Outside In, Royal Naval House

Data visualisation / Experiental / Installation

Bringing the Outside In

Outside In is an interactive artwork designed to let visitors to The Royal Naval House, home to creative agencies from CMG Group and McCann Worldgroup, tell a visual story by manipulating the elements of the local environment.

A poetic wallpaper, taking its cues from the immediate environment. It is designed to be a restful and reflective sanctuary for the visitor, who has just come from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Visitors see an ever-changing colour palette; overlaid are soaring birds which dramatically scatter and reform as if startled; looking up, as if into an airy canopy – there’s a growing tree, part of a burgeoning environment.

On closer inspection, the visitor realises the colours in the palette are derived from an external camera signal, which they can control via a touch screen interface. Only they realise the beautiful colours come from what the camera sees.

The birds react to audio levels detected by a microphone in the foyer – shout and they will scatter. Our tree gains sustenance from people entering the building. The more individuals detected, the more the tree matures. It’s an organic representation of the comings and goings of visitors and employees.

This project was commissioned by CMG Group and McCann Worldgroup and is one of two installations created for the foyer of their building, The Royal Naval House in the Rocks, Sydney, Australia.

The other installation can be seen here.