Liquid Selves

Liquid Selves
image/jpeg
320 × 256

This piece depicts the upcoming struggle between the virtual and physical sides of our selves. As technology brings us the age of virtual worlds, our existence as individuals becomes less and less dependent on our physical being. Our virtual identities become more powerful and flexible, but also unstable and difficult to define. Our consistent recognizable faces are left behind and all faces become masks. The ability to drink from and contribute to the global information pool is greatly enhanced, and this will affect the course of civilization, but the effective destruction of our bodies is a possible consequence.

A collection of techniques were used to produce this animation. Particle systems were used to disassemble and reconstruct various images. Artificial evolution and interpolation of 3D parametric shapes allowed the creation of unusual surface transformations. Morphing techniques produced smooth transitions between faces, and various image processing, warping, and compositing techniques were also employed.
Karl Sims