Client: Touring artwork

Overview

Working with world-leading particle physicists, This is Loop have been inspired by the elusive neutrino or

Goals

The aim with Geist was to create an interactive sculpture to sit at the intersection of art, technology and science. It was important that the sculpture be mesmerising to look at on the surface but also for the piece to communicate on several different levels; introducing the concept of particle physics on a name-check level, but also going deeper to interpret and mimic complex scientific experiments and provide a conduit to encourage curiosity of the scientific theories and potentially inspire awe and further understanding of our universe.

Process

Once the concept of Geist had taken shape we began to engage with potential science partners and artists specialising in audio and coding that we could collaborate with to bring it to life.
The scientific narrative of Geist involved input from particle physicists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and the Physics Department at Oxford University. The collected group of physicists have provided access to and context for real
neutrino oscillation measurements from the T2K neutrino experiment in Japan. In collaboration with new-media artist Motus Art and sound artist Dan Bibby, This is Loop have re-interpreted actual neutrino interactions seen by T2K, using input from cameras with AI person detection and complex code, into the animation of moving light and audio for Geist. The type of ‘neutrino’ seen will depend on the neutrino oscillation probabilities from T2K. When the audience ‘interacts’ with the sculpture, Geist will reflect a visual and audio representation of the detection of a neutrino.