Concept:

In Persian literature, “Leyla” loves and is loved, yet she lacks a specific character, as if anyone could be a “Leyla”. Exploring the interconnection between marginalized and footnote historical events happening in different times and places, I have found a thread of poems being repeated in them, all mentioning the name “Leyla.” I have used this thread to present their interconnection, employing the element of “touch” as the deprived embodiment in the narratives, retelling them within a new frame, as intimacy was the missing element in the narrations.


Technical part:

I created an unsynchronized video featuring all the events. My initial idea was to have a triangular connection system where participants, by holding hands, would synchronize the videos of each event. I used three metal pieces to establish a resistance-based connection. I used Arduino to receive the resistance signals, which I then used in TouchDesigner to project the corresponding videos.

Obstacles, Lessons Learned, and Questions:

The initial idea was to create a system of connections where people would form a human chain to watch synchronized videos. However, I encountered several obstacles while developing this system. 

Initially, I had three sources of connection. The connection between n1 with n2 and n3 was possible, but establishing a connection between n2 and n3 was challenging (or at least, I couldn't figure out how). Consequently, I had to introduce a base plate to serve as the foundation for the connection. However, this addition made it somewhat confusing for the audience to engage with.

Another reason the idea remained "in progress" and ultimately didn't succeed was that I needed to position the connection sources far apart from each other to motivate people to {hold hands} while watching the synchronized videos. However, due to space limitations, I couldn't execute this effectively.

Another realization was that most interactive works are playful, short, and engaging. I aimed to draw attention to content that, at its core, is not inherently enjoyable to watch. People tend to be passive when encountering historical evidence, perhaps because it pertains to events from the past. I found that the videos seemed somewhat disconnected from the exhibition's context.

This raises the questions: Is it ill-advised to create interactive artworks with historical context? Especially ones that feature relatively long videos requiring the audience's engagement for, say, three continuous minutes? These are the thoughts and questions that emerged during the exhibition.



***

Acknowledgments:

-Ahmad Erfani Jahanbakhsh assisted me with the technical aspects of TouchDesigner and the installation of the work in the exhibition and Vytautas Bikauskas helped me with the conceptualization and ideas of the interaction.

-The protest footage included in this project was sourced from various social media platforms and comes from unidentified senders. Other footage was recorded by myself at the locations where historical events occurred.

-Songs in the videos were recited by Maryam Golpayegani, Baran Dorudgar, Reyhaneh Jamshidi, and Meshkat Talebi.



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