Element Zero
UT CreaTE expoGroup: Glasses of the Galaxy
Project name: Element Zero (ε 0)
Team members:
Renske Blaas, Michael Bui, Irma Harms, Ika Hunt, Kevin Indrawijaya, Maaike Keurhorst, Gijs van Rhijn, Nora Tunc
Element zero – starting from zero, the choice is yours. This installation provides the user an entirely new-found planet, which can be altered as pleased by a given control panel, as it is visible in the picture. Since the sliders and buttons not only change vegetation and population, but sound also causes weather differences, it conveys a feeling of power to the user – full power to change an entire planet and having enough control over it, making the user feel God-like. Day and night time can be changed, just like easily eradicating and annihilating the population, which shows the entirety of power a single individual can have.
This also connects to the message behind this installation, showing the influence a single individual can have on our Earth, as well. Element zero gives the user the choice to create a balanced ecosystem, or to destroy the planet, just as they please. And this mindset will be carried over to the real-life example. Our planet, Earth.