Storytelling with art and technology

Ether, an interactive public arts project created by Glyph and Kaaktalio, was open to the public last week at Goethe Institut, Dhanmondi.

Ether is an attempt at merging architecture, motion capture technology, music, street art and poetry to create a physical story. Designed to be an exclusive, individual experience, each member of the audience was able to walk into the story, which was set inside a labyrinth.

The technology behind Ether was developed by the artists and technologists of Kaaktalio, an independent production studio that works in motion picture, animation, live visual, music and art technology. Their technology translated the audience's motion into custom visuals and music, making the experience unique for each person as they interacted with it.

The creative conceptualisation and story was created by the writers and artists of Glyph, a creative storytelling agency passionate about experimenting with the art of storytelling. The script, artwork and words were created at many levels, conceptualised digitally and replicated using painting techniques loosely inspired by street-art techniques. The idea, as said by the creators, was to create a virtual space that would allow the audience to drift into the story.

Together, Kaaktalio and Glyph have built a working partnership where technology has merged with creative arts, reflecting on infinite possibilities for a new generation of creative technologists and artists.

It was supported by Goethe-Institut, British Council and Alliance Computers Ltd.