Bitquid overview
Bitquid close-up
Bitquid 1st renders
It was hard work, but finally it is there. From the 2nd of Arpil till the 13th Bitquid is exhibited at the STRP Festival in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. So far the system works really great and I already have got lots of positive feedback.
The concept in short:
Bitquid explores the imaginary dividing line where the digital world ends and the analogue world begins. The past 30 years we started to live in a digital world that in reality is really abstract and exact. Jeroen Holthuis investigates with Bitquid a way to make digital information and our lives tangible again. In our analogue environment, the transfer of information is never as exact as the transfer of information in the digital world, the protocols are very different.
Bitquid consists out of a system of hoses with a total length of about 800 metres. The system can communicate 32 bits at a time. There are two screens, the first screen shows an image before it is sent through the system, the second screen displays the re-digitized image.
From bits to atoms, the binary information leaks in our tangible world. These atoms are a fluorescent liquid that is pumped through the hoses. On their way through our analogue environment, these bits will get altered, because this world leaves a stain, a mark on the information. At the end of the system the binary information gets analysed again, revealing an image build of non-electronic transported data.
Results
I haven’t got to test the sensors and software for rendering the images after being transported in the fluids. At STRP this experiment is being premiered. The resulting images are really interesting. I can actually see a good resemblance with the original ones. The sensors which read the information in the hoses need to be tweeked a bit and there is some syncing to be done between both computers. I am glad that this experiment really comes together now.
Tags: Bitquid, exhibition, STRP
Thank you for your kind words. I just dropped you an e-mail.
Hi Jeroen
Congratulations! Your project is awesome!
It’s one of those moments when I say to myself: “I once had a vaguely similar idea, but this guy just hit the nail on the head”.
You might have heard of a place called “plug-in” [http://www.iplugin.org/] in Basel/Switzerland (that’s where I live). I think your work would fit in perfectly. I’m not affiliated with the place, but I know some people there. So, if I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me (or directly contact them for the matter).
Cheers,
Peter
BTW: There’s also a yearly festival for new media in Basel (where – for selfish reasons I’d love to see your installation): [http://www.shiftfestival.ch/] (again, I happen to know some people there, too).