Ripple is a playful embodiment of the notion that we can achieve more together, that every action creates a ripple effect.

It was an interactive installation that allows users to make music by pulling suspended teardrops. Visitors move through a forest of droplets, making music and encouraging other users to join in, in a ripple effect. They work together, synchronizing their movements and harmonizing their sounds.

Ripple was a Special Independent Project part of the 10th annual Nuit Blanche festival, sponsored by Subaru, displayed at Queen’s Quay Terminal on October 2015. It was exhibited again on January 2016 at the Gladstone Hotel for Come Up to My Room.

Droplets were prototyped using vacuum-formed acrylic and 3D printed molds, then spray frosted. They are lit with 10mm LED bulbs. Canopy droplets are wired through a copper tape circuit. Interactive musical droplets are powered with coin batteries, then connected via fishing wire to the keyboard hidden above.

Droplets were arranged to form a canopy of undulating waves and varying densities, using Rhino + Grasshopper parametric modeling software.

The droplets are suspended from the ceiling of a long walkway. Ceiling panels, composed of black acrylic sheets with wood framing, are attached to a scaffolding structure.

Process