A community wide digital project resulting in a real world art installation or display of the physical work. A project that uses nature, in this case moths and butterflies to engage communities through a shared digital immersive experience and the production of an individual artwork that makes up part of the installation that can be kept afterwards.
The moth augmented reality digital moth eclipses can be viewed anywhere in the world via a device that connects to a internet signal. Anyone who contributes an artwork or doodle gets listed on the selection menu of the app, this brings all the moths or butterflies that have been produced for a particular project together digitally and then gives a sense of seeing a physical installation when viewed in augmented reality.
We are drawn to the idea of reaching out to the communities, either at arranged workshops, template drop offs that people can upload or even with pre paid postage, engaging schools etc with a blank template or publishing it in the local paper.
Once we receive the patterned moths we can create a unique app for the project with graphics and artwork etc, the app can be shared without a download, but triggered by a QR code, creating the digital element to the project.
We would like the templates to be more substantial than a piece of paper by evolving the concept further and creating lazer cut ply wood templates (an intricate beautiful wooden moth) which could still be digitized but would be better for being part of a display due to their rigidity. Plus it would last longer and hopefully be a legacy to the project. After the project the moths could go back into their respective creators/ communities and form another installation or just be a great ‘keepsake’ from the project.
Access to the Augmented Reality would be live for 6 months.
Collecting species data by way of simple engagement can provide some interesting starting points. Our moth and butterfly wing templates would be based on local sightings and hopefully bring together moth enthusiasts with interested community member encouraging further dialogue and collaboration.
Work with a local outreach specialist to provide local knowledge to community groups, we arranged several workshops to develop the moths from a template.
‘ZEROH’ are Daniel Hardiker and Neil Hetherington. They are digital artists practicing in St Leonards On Sea, East Sussex. Their work blends traditional and emerging working practice, using art and technology focusing around themes of climate, community and nature. Dan and Neil use technology, digital art, storytelling and placemaking to transform existing community environments into memorable experiences.
Moths have always been a strong theme in their work, they are attracted by their subtle beauty, patterning and spiritual presence. ZEROH’s interest is constantly evolving and they continue to find new ways of using moths to explore our relationship with nature and art through creative exploration and appreciation of a fascinating under appreciated species.
