'A delicate agreement': exploring subtle gaze-triggered interaction in art

Abstract

Elevators are awkward spaces. There are unspoken rules about what behaviour is acceptable while riding with a stranger. If these rules are broken, the remainder of the elevator ride becomes unbelievably uncomfortable. If a stranger casts their gaze in any direction other than towards the doors, this can threaten the delicate agreement that tacitly exists between the occupants of the elevator, turning the mood into an emotional pressure cooker. A Delicate Agreement is a gaze-triggered interactive art installation that explores this concept. It is a set of elevator doors with a peephole in either side that entices viewers to peer inside and observe an animation of the passengers. Each elevator passenger, or character, has a programmed personality that enables them to act and react to the other characters' behaviour and the viewers' gaze. The result is the emergence of a rich interactive narrative made up of encounters between the characters.