E-motional vase
Months ago I visited a showroom in Milan where I met Alessandro Ciffo and his wonderful creations; objects beautiful for proportions and construction technique (made in silicone), with a physical consistency similar to that of an organism of the animal kingdom. These objects react to the touch with a vibrating motion and oscillatory, vaguely hypnotic, just like with soft tissues. It seemed to me the vase had its own life.
The relationship we have with objects and places in nature becomes “emotional” when they can evoke in us emotional phenomena. This can happen in many ways: through the evocation of a memory, an emotion, establishing a two-way relationship.
We equipped one of these vases (the video was shooted during a time of testing) with a kinematic system electronically piloted by which the object reacts to the human voice with a sort of “tremulous thrill”. The most common response from those who have had the opportunity to interact with the object has been: wow! Something between amusement and surprise; in particular, I noticed that the latter, over time, tends to become a familiar.
This vase could become something like a pet. Syndrome Tamagotchi?
Credits:
INTERACTION DESIGN | arch. Carlo De Mattia
ENGINEERING | ing. Emanuele Frontoni (Grottini Lab)
SILICONE VASE | Alessandro Ciffo