The Moire Corridor (design concept and prototype)

The Moiré Corridor consists of a long fabricated structure: either attached to a wall or in the form of an extended fence. This structure, a double layer of carefully sized and positioned metal slats, makes use of a combination of motion parallax effects and line-moiré interference patterns to produce a perceptual amplification of the viewer’s movement: with the intent of drawing greater attention to their own embodied and active perception. Because this perceived effect is initiated through motion parallax, if the viewer stops moving, the interference patterns will also stop moving, so in order to experience the artwork, one must be in motion.

Beyond the basic design and concept, a mathematical system has been developed in order to calculate and precisely predict the perceptual effects resulting from various fence geometries. From this system, the Moiré Corridor can be reconfigured to fit a wide array of specific sites – both interior and exterior. Additionally, a crude prototype was produced in order to confirm that the mathematical calculations translate into predictable and interesting behaviors in reality. This prototype was shown as part of the exhibition, Prototypes, Experiments and Carefully-Considered Observations (2012), in the Artlab Gallery at Western University, and functioned exactly as intended.