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In current times, the ‘new normal’, it is harder to maintain a clear mental state and focus. Brain and breathing exercises help me personally to keep an open mind. It generates my focus and improves my memory retention. It is a way of self-reflection being able to empty my mind of thoughts and maintain my sanity. Within Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, for example, there are many rituals and exercises for mediation. Within Zen, “karensansui” gardens are created as a meditative practice to capture the spirit of nature and reveal their own essence of life. Within Tibetan Buddhism, the creation of sand Mandelas is an important ritual. These Mandalas can vary from simple to elaborate sand drawings containing religious figures and symbols. The process of making these Mandelas serve as a process to reach mental enlightenment. This mediative process is complete after these drawings are erased completing the ritual. Inspired by these Japanese “karensansui” (Zen gardens) and Tibetan Buddhism sand Mandalas, I created: […], a symbolic visualization of mental space. A breathing exercise that is mediated through a digital application and physical installation.
Technical design:
The custom construction is made out of straightened binding wire, soldered together by the use of S-39. A metal tray, filled with white bird sand is used as the main shape for the installation. The mechanical components of the work consist out of a bridge that is connected to a centre mass rod attached to a stepper motor. On top of the bridge, a straight rod with a drawing tool is attached to a small servo. It creates the swivel mechanism for the drawing tool to either draw or erase. The communication between the hardware and software is done by the use of a microcontroller (Arduino UNO). It bridges the hardware components to the openFramworks application over serial communication. The interaction of the piece is done by face detection (Haar cascade, OpenCV). If a face is present, a byte is sent over serial communication to the microcontroller triggering the stepper motor to move a single step forward. After the stepper motor made a full 360 rotation, the servo is trigged and swivels the drawing tool up and puts the eraser down, cleaning the previously drawn circle. This process loops up until a face is no longer detected.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBrYUlOYK0U
Code + Hardware: