In the collective exhibition 'Home Through Participation', I explore the digital preservation of vernacular items and the reimagining of traditional items in a virtual space via an installation called 'Spatial Echoes'. For far too long, digital spaces have overlooked vernacular Ghanaian [household] items that carry significant cultural meaning. In this work, I explore how these vernacular items can hold space within digital domains.
Spatial Echoes was set up at Nuku Studio - Center for Photographic Research and Practice in Tamale. The space is open to the public and free to enter. Visitors come from many demographics, including academics, passersby, community leaders, and children, making it a unique space for this interactive work.
The exhibit transforms selected vernacular items into interactive digital forms, allowing you to navigate and engage with them. The choice of the exhibit being interactive was to further investigate people's connections with these items in a new environment, other than their usual environment. The visitors become participants rather than just being spectators.
This process documents and archives these artefacts and challenges the boundaries between heritage and technology. By preserving these items in a dynamic digital format and making them interactive, the exhibit invites a deeper appreciation of their cultural significance while ensuring their longevity in an era of rapid change.
Six vernacular objects were selected and scanned using a laser scanner [Figs. 1, 2]. Selection was done using my criteria of how vernacular each object was. My definition of vernacular in this exhibit refers to the geographically (Ghanaian) unique object design and its functional use.
These objects included a 'tap lock' [Fig. 3], which restricts access to an outdoor tap. A 'buta' [Fig. 4], also known as an ablution can, used by muslims during ablution. A 'coal pot' [Fig. 5], used for cooking. A 'kɔi' also known as a digging hoe [Fig. 6]. An 'ato' [Fig. 7], also known as a grinding pestle and a hand-carved mask keychain [Fig. 8]. Three items—the buta, coal pot, and keychain—were selected from my immediate environment, Tamale for the exhibition, while the others came from Accra.
The setup can be classified into three parts. First is the imaging input, which is made up of a camera. Then, a processing system comprises a hand tracking module that analyses the image input and uses the data to control the basic interactions, as seen in Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20. Also, a renderer that processes the scanned items using a specific aesthetic, like white point clouds on black renders. Finally, there is an output system comprising a projector, displaying real-time interaction with the items.
h1 refers to the [1st hand]* that is presented to system.
h2 refers to the [2nd hand]* that is presented to system.
During interaction with the system, there might be a brief moment where one or both hands go out of frame.
When this happens, there is a reset and the current hand switches from h1 to h2.
