Technkisi

Technkisi is inspired by Kongo Power Figures from the 19th century. It re-imagines the rituals performed around the figurines from Central West Africa through modern technological lens. Some of the original figurines are exhibited in the collection of Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The user communicates with the sculpture with his/her own mindwaves via a wireless BCI (Brain Computer Interface). The sculpture listens, interprets and absorbs the concerns of the user. It changes its physical form to respond to the user’s state of mind. It then inherits the user’s negativity and cries out machine oil, relieving the user of the burden. The goal was to develop an immersive and interactive experience to realize technology as a conscious entity.

When the ritual is initialized, the sculpture begins to move. The user sitting in front of the sculpture quietly focuses on his/her thoughts.The user mentally addresses a concern to the sculpture. After enough focus is established. The sculpture lights up and form a cohesive shape of human face indicating that the user is in sync with the it and has its undivided attention. The user then meditates to release their concern for the sculpture to inherit it. After a while the sculpture would cry out oil as a representation of it empathizing with the user.

The kinetic sculpture was designed by 3D scanning the original artifact and was modified into a low polygon model. The model was split into multiple 3D printed layers each of which can individually move in its own orthogonal plane. The whole assembly sits in a basin of oil.

Support and guidance provided by:

• Don Undeen - Senior Manager, MET MediaLab
• Yaëlle Biro - Associate Curator for Arts of Africa

“Whenever I showed MediaLab guests around our space, this project was one of my favorites to explain. It exemplifies the spirit of the MediaLab because it takes a deep look at the Met’s collection and uniquely uses technology to provoke conversation about what it means to be a museum in the twenty-first century. How do we connect visitors from very different cultures to the original purpose of these objects? Technkisi is one approach to that question that I hope will inspire us to take a closer look at our relationship with ritual objects in museums.”

Don Undeen, Former Senior Manager of MediaLab

Publication: MET Digital Underground: Technkisi: A Spiritual Connection with Technology

Exhibition: Media Lab Expo: Arts, Robots and Chocolates