I See You

Nyanyano is a small village in Ghana where most people make their living by fishing while suffering from chronic poverty. However, what is more severe it that even children suffer from child labor.

The reality that nearly one third of Ghanaian adults are illiterate shapes a passive attitude towards primary education. In situations of extreme poverty, education often takes a back seat to other activities as child labor and truancy.

This project aims to provide inspiration and encouragement to the Ghanaian children who suffer from extreme poverty and child labor, and to increase awareness about them in different communities through interactive spaces. 

Sharing Faces is the project of Kyle McDonald in collaboration with YCAM Interlab which took place in Anyang, Korea and Yamaguchi, Japan. Photos taken in two locations were shared through the installations. Visiting the installation at either location would match your expression and pose in realtime with these photos of someone else who once stood in front of the installation. People could see themselves reflected in the face of another person.

Inspiration

While brainstorming, I tried to focus on how to create "mutually beneficial" interactions between the Ghanaian children and outer communities.

Below is a video of the project that inspired my idea.

Idea

Sharing Faces gave me insights that it could be an effective platform for the Ghanaian kids to communicate with people from different communities and get motivated by them. 

My design idea is in the same vein as the project Sharing Faces, but with a more stronger motivation to create effective interactions between two different communities. 

1.  A Mirror display will be installed in two different locations
2.  Camera on each side will capture movement of people in front of the display
3. When people move in front of the mirror, it will show an equivalent or similar move of the person on the other side. 

Photos will be taken constantly when people in front of the installation move. The images will be sent to the other side to be controlled and displayed by the server.

Required Technology

1. Mirror Displays
2. Motion tracking with Processing
3. Cameras
4. Server

Locations

1. The Fieldhouse 

Nyanyano, Ghana

The Fieldhouse Project is a non-governmental organization for community and child development in Ghana through education and athletics. Since 2013, they had put great effort to build the Fieldhouse in Nyanyano which is a modular, two-room center for sport and community. The construction was completed in September 2015 and the Fieldhouse is utilized by the Nyanyano community.

The children who will be interacting with the installation are expected to communicate with diverse people in different communities and to be inspired by the people in various ways.

2. Times Square 

New York, USA

When deciding the location outside of the Nyanyano community, the first place that came up in my mind was Wall Street in New York. I thought the Ghanaian children would get inspired or motivated in many ways when they see people who have successful career in different society. However, I realized that it could make the children feel more deprived.

I looked for another place where there are a much more diverse population and found that Times Square in New York, which have large floating population from different cultures, could be a great spot. 

People who will be interacting with the installation would be able to realize that there are Ghanaian children who want to be more educated to overcome extreme poverty and make their own path for future. 

Visualization

Breakdown & Opportunity

Maintenance

It is not appropriate to install the display outside because Ghana has a year round tropical climate and rainy seasons. Even if it is installed inside of the Fieldhouse, displaying 24/7 and maintaining it could be very difficult for Nyanyano community due to power shortage. The mirror display could be replaced with projection on wall and could be turned off when there are no people inside.

Application

• Different Communities, Different Locations

For example, one of schools in America or other countries could be a possible location. The installation will help them learn life 0f each other and share unique experiences. Multiple communities could be connected to the Ghanaian children community and share their unique experiences. Different characteristics of the communities could inspire the children enormously. Since the display could be in a smaller scale, it could be installed any places where there are people to interact with the Ghanaian children.

• Voice
  

Not just images, but voice of people in one side could be recorded and played on the other side. It will still not be a live video, but it could deliver liveliness of the other side like a real-time documentary and make the interactions more dynamic. 

• Album