Interactive Stereoscopic Installation: A Photographic Collage

The research involves the creation of an interactive installation showcasing the dynamic nature of human visual observation of a still photograph. Using an eye tracker as an input device, the data collected is used to create a photographic collage in stereoscopic 3D. The installation is artistically inspired by selected photographic works of artists David Hockney, Maurizio Galimberti, Joyce Neimanas and Cubist painters especially Picasso. One of the key factors in their work that is adapted in this research, is the representation of the way eyes search points of interest demonstrated in what they painted/photographed. The installation will demonstrate an expressive representation of the viewers' experience of looking at a photograph. This will be achieved by applying certain manipulations of the photograph based on the input obtained from the viewer using an eye tracker. The eye tracker collects information about the location and number of instances of where the viewer is when observing a photograph. This is fed into software that processes the data and determines the location and the size of the area of the photograph and amount of the manipulation to be applied to that area. These two constitute the artistic rules that are used to create the end product the photo collage. The individual pieces of the collage will be arranged in a virtual 3D model by the artist and will be projected in stereoscopic 3D. The development of this installation progressed through multiple case studies and optimization based on ease of use, cost and availability of resources. This process is intended to be a framework for artists working in interactive visual media.