Mixed Up Portraits
Category / Type: Interactive installation, generative portrait
Year of creation: 2019
Artist / Collaborators: Florent Schirrer
Presentation venue: Artothèque, Mons, Belgium (as part of the artist tour organized by the collective Anamnese)
Artistic Intention and Concept
Mixed Up Portraits explores portrait and identity through deconstruction and real-time recomposition of images. The installation draws inspiration from Jiří Kolář’s collages and translates his technique into an animated and interactive digital form.
Philosophy / Message: The work questions self-perception and the multiplicity of identities. Each visitor becomes both actor and subject, discovering a fragmented and offset version of their face in constant motion.
Fundamental Experience: Participants are invited to move their heads and faces to generate playful, random, and poetic combinations. The experience transforms the familiarity of a portrait into a captivating visual game.
Artistic reference: Jiří Kolář, for his collage portraits in small squares, inspired the animated deconstruction and recomposition of faces in this digital installation.
Device / Technical Description
Physical materials: Projector or screen, chair, computer, webcam.
Interactive / Technological components: Webcam for real-time capture, software to generate an animated grid of portraits.
Dimensions / Space requirements: Enough space for the participant to comfortably sit or stand in front of the camera and screen.
Lighting conditions: Moderate ambient light to ensure the projected image is readable and contrasted.
User Interaction Scenario
Initial action: Visitor sits or stands in front of the camera.
Trigger: The camera captures the face, which is split into a grid. Each square appears with a time offset, creating a deconstructed animation.
Collective evolution: Multiple participants can take turns in front of the camera to explore different face combinations.
Sensory feedback: Head and facial movements directly influence the visual output, producing random and amusing effects.
End of experience: Generated portraits can be accessed on the installation’s website after the exhibition, allowing visitors to revisit their unique combinations.
Contextual and Logistical Information
Exhibitions / Events: Artist tour, Artothèque de Mons, Mons, Belgium, 2019.
Setup time: 1–2 hours to position the screen, camera, and calibrate the software.
Approximate budget: Between €750 and €1500 depending on existing equipment.
Perspective: The installation invites reflection on identity and portraiture, with potential extensions for multiple participants, web display, or alternative presentation formats.
