Propolis
2018
educational supervision
Project Description
Propolis is an immersive and interactive installation in two parts that invites participants to take action within a fictional ecosystem threatened by pollution, through two complementary spaces: the Hive and the Molecular Field.
In the Hive, participants move across a floor made up of 84 illuminated cells. Each step on the colored cells — purple, red, or blue — helps to “free” them from pollution. The blue cells represent successful combinations created in the other space, the Molecular Field. Each purified cell triggers the release of a substance into a large central reservoir. When the reservoir reaches full capacity, a sound and light show rewards the collective effort.
The journey continues in the Molecular Field, an immersive world where participants are “miniaturized” to the scale of matter. They interact with 30 atoms distributed in the space, coloring them by touch to create molecular assemblies. These assemblies produce the depolluting substance intended for the Hive. To protect these structures from pollution, participants must also activate a protective device located at the center of each molecule.
Project Members
Professors: Danny Perrault & Jonathan Bonneau
Academic Team: Thomas Ouellet Fredericks, Patrice Colombe & Claude Bastien
Students: Madeleine Bruneau, Vincent Cusson, Charli Dagenais Quesnel, Béatrice Desmarais, Jennifer Despot, Hugo Déziel, Jonathan Fauchon, Giacomo Ferron, Stéphanie Gauthier, Ahmad Tala Haidar, Jeremy Havitov, Anne Jodoin, Marc-Antoine Laberge, Audrey Lamoureux, Marc Lamontagne, Aurélie Lauzon-Potts, Jean-Christophe Leclerc-Massé, Tristan Machard-Garceau, Cédrick Malenfant, Gabrielle Martineau, Marie-Jade Martineau, Xavier Martel-Lachance, Marianne Munger, Yanick Myre, Samuel Nadeau, Nicolas Paré, Félix Poissant-Baril, Mattis Rodrigue, Mylène Tessier, Pascale Tétrault & Louis Thériault-Boivin
Presentation
February 22 to March, 2018
At the Promenade des Artistes & Rue Émery
President-Kennedy Avenue, Montreal
Final Productions
- Interactive floor with illuminated cells and presence sensors
- Dynamic lighting system to illuminate the cells based on interactions
- Sound and light show synchronized with the floor
- Interactive molecular structures within the immersive space of the Molecular Field
- Tactile devices to assign colors to atoms and activate protection
- Visual interface (projections or screens) to display molecular assemblies
Behind the Installation…
The Propolis project offers an immersive experience where the body and matter interact to raise awareness about pollution and depollution. It combines art, technology, and science by blending physical movements on an illuminated floor with a tactile and visual exploration of the molecular world.
Created at UQAM as part of a final undergraduate project in the Communication program (Media Creation – Interactive Media), the project was developed under the supervision of Danny Perreault, professor at UQAM’s Ecole des médias. It benefited from both pedagogical and artistic guidance, which supported the students throughout the creative process—conceptually, technically, and aesthetically.
