DRIFT explores power of choice with 'murmuring minds' at LUMA arles

murmuring minds is an interactive installation by drift

Earlier this summer, the opening of the Living Landscape exhibition at LUMA Arles revealed Murmuring Minds – a new performative and interactive installation by DRIFT. On view until September 29th, 2024, the artwork explores the intricate patterns governing movement and process. Within a designated space, sixty autonomously-moving rectangular blocks act as a swarm executing specific behaviors. ‘We developed the interactive dynamics into four types that we have observed in both nature and human society: The Leader, The Hunter, The Vortex, The Machine. The installation is an experiment and a question. On how we generate choices, what our decisions are, and how these affect larger structures. How do we define leadership and control in a contemporary context’ shares the studio.

Murmuring Minds by DRIFT | image © Finn Bech

witnessing human-machine interaction at luma arles

During the performance, the audience witnesses participants engaging with their positions and roles amid the blocks. DRIFT seeks to instill awareness that each situation necessitates a distinct approach. Each movement and each decision have a visible effect on the composition and reaction of the blocks. Sometimes collectively, or at other times individually, the blocks coexist in a landscape of events negotiated by the human-machine interaction. As argued by the studio, the nature of decision-making processes, what we consider natural and what we see as artificial are complexified in the performative installation. The computational code that allows movement becomes part of the relationship and the interface. In Murmuring Minds, participants and technology enact beyond the conventional idea of passive contemplation, creating an environment that extends the boundaries between observation and participation.

image © Finn Bech

recreating a swarm behavior

Drawing inspiration from swarming behaviors observed in different species and using the intelligence of birds, fish, and bees as a starting point, Murmuring Minds at LUMA campus creates a space of sociability, study, and play. Within this immersive setting, participants grasp the significance of their actions and responses to the environment as a fundamental survival mechanism and as part of a system. Different choices can create chaos, while certain movements or actions can elicit synchronized responses from the blocks. ‘An element of surprise, excitement and anticipation is prevalent in an installation where the fusion of technology and human interaction form the crux of the experience,’ concludes DRIFT.

image: video still, Murmuring Minds – DRIFT at LUMA, Arles | courtesy the studio