The prevalence of multimedia technology has influenced modern society in many ways. Technological and economic feasibility have enabled the application of multimedia to physical spaces, where media such as audio, visual and interactive content take on spatial significance.(McCollough 2005, pp. 154-165) This has spurred multidisciplinary ventures in architecture that explore the architectonic potential of multimedia. Particularly relevant, are the progressive spatial applications of multimedia evident in multimedia installation artworks and interactive spaces. Through a case study analysis of 25 works of multimedia installation art and interactive spaces, this paper seeks to understand the manner that multimedia influences an architectural space and determine the significance of such influences in an architectural context.

Synthetic biology as an artistic technique draws on the exploration of the mechanisms used by organisms to process information and develop their morphologies to address a diverse range of aesthetic agendas. The instrumentalisation of biological processes and methodologies by artists is called Evolutionary Art (EvoArt) and this practice has been attracting in the last three decades an increasing number of creators. Natural selection and genetics are inspirations for the practice of artists such as William Latham (development of biomorphic shapes: sculptures, paintings, designs), or Robb Lovell and John Mitchell (development of entire virtual ecologies).

The focus of this paper is the description and contextualisation of series of artworks that I have been developing since 2007, each of which I feel address concepts of what is termed 'media archaeology' - the ability to extract information, objects and environments from either virtual or historical sources and reproduce them in a real world space, in this case the art gallery.

The proliferation of artists, audiences, and participants who have the ability to create mirror copies of original digital media arts work challenges us to re-examine how value is assigned to digital media arts work. Historically, space and capital limitations restricted the public’s accessibility to artwork, but the growth of mass digital reproduction and alternative forms of art exhibition spaces is having a profound effect on the experience and valuation of digital media arts work. For example, the online distribution of digital media arts work across networks facilitates the circumvention of traditional valuation models. In this essay, I explore the background and challenges to assigning value to digital media arts work. This essay also investigates alternative models of exhibition and valuation of digital media arts work in the institutional, private, and public spheres.

Eye.Breathe.Music is a musical interface that can be controlled by movement of the pupils and breath pressure. The interface uses a pressure sensor to measure breath intensity; a camera to track eye movement and a display to provide the user with interactive feedback. This paper discusses the background research into the instrument, how this was used to design and construct the system, an evaluation of the resulted prototype, future development and possible applications.

This demonstration paper describes the conception, design and implementation of a hardware/software musical interface and its use in performance with a group of dancers and a choreographer. It investigates the design and development of such interfaces in the light of these experiences and presents material from two of these custom interfaces.

The Mesopotamian invention of suspended narratives in mineral pigment and glaze produced in the fifteen thousand year old ‘new technology’ of the ceramic tile sets the scene for my talk for EVA 2010 (and this published paper which is intended to act as a prologue to that talk). It was this invention, a mass-produced media technology with the limit of a prototype glass screen that allowed commentators to distinguish between the repetitious, the mimetic and the bespoke for the first time.

Out of dissatisfaction with currently available software, we built a music management program for large digital music libraries. We propose a system that solves some of the difficulties of organising these libraries. The system introduces a new visual interaction style with the user’s music collection. A physics system coupled to album’s genre information allows the user to spatially order his or her music on screen and make selections. Also, the graphical appearance of the albums on screen reveals some of their properties, like age or genre, at a single glance. This, combined with an advanced search mechanism and the ability to add custom properties and information to the music, ensures rapid retrieval of music from even the largest of databases. User evaluations confirmed that all functions form welcome improvements over those of well-known text-based alternatives.

This paper presents the Ruskin Rocks project which is developing a rock instrument, making use of interactive multimedia to augment the musical characteristics of stones. Several historical rock instruments, which inspired the building of this instrument - iRock - are discussed. Fundamental vibration theory is applied to understand the musical nature of the rocks, and empirical data presented to support the decisions made for the instrument design. Several new concepts based on user-centred design have been introduced to study the effects of interfaces and interactivities. The paper also outlines the iRock system architecture and discusses augmentations to the instrument and signal processing techniques.

As an artist who uses computers I present some justification and rationale for doing so within the context of my creative ideas and influences.