25_P002 - (RE-)WIRING REALITY
24_P004 - WAVEBAND INTRUSION
23_P004 - DO YOU EVEN SPEAK GAUSSIAN?
22_P006 - OHNMACHT
21_P005 - ISTANBUL DELIRIUM
20_P002 - ADBUSTING
RP_001
HEXAQUATIC ENTROPY (32-BIT)
Research into the possibility of organic encryption methods that engage with the fluidity between digital and biological movement. A commentary on the unpredictable entropy generated by organic life.
SYNOPSIS:
HEXAQUATIC ENTROPY 32-bit Encryption with the help of Fantail Goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus)
What if encryption didn't start in code, but in life itself?
Hexaquatic Entropy investigates the boundary between organic systems and digital logic — using the unpredictable, unrepeatable movement of living fish as a source of cryptographic entropy. Inspired by Cloudflare's wall of lava lamps, which generate randomness through analogue chaos to seed encryption keys, this work asks whether life itself can serve as a security mechanism — and what it means when it does.
Over the course of the project, the movement of Fantail Goldfish was continuously tracked via two livestream overhead cameras, their coordinates captured in real time and processed into a 32-value hexadecimal cryptographic key. The research brought together fields rarely in conversation: cryptography, animal behavior, and the philosophy of abstraction.
Central questions emerged: at what point does data representation become reductive?
How far can a living system be encoded before its essential qualities are lost?
The output lives across three canvases. One visualises the fish's tracked positions as a spatial grid — a live map of motion. The other translates these positions into hexadecimal values, assembling a functional passkey. Both are rendered in phosphorescent pigment: the key fades. It cannot be saved. It exists only while the fish are moving, only while they're alive — best described by the German term Flüchtigkeit: fleetingness, volatility.
The installation sits at the intersection of systems art, critical technology studies, and live biological process. It does not resolve its questions. It holds them open.
Can a machine ever truly grasp the entropy of something still alive?
Can we?
RESEARCH ASPECT:
This investigation reimagines movements and the body in performance art, focusing beyond aesthetics to a fundamental, functional level, challenging traditional perceptions of movement in performance.
The captivating discoveries from this exploration were previously shared with an eager audience during a "Work in Progress" showcase. For the upcoming graduation project, additional research will be conducted on the matter.
TIMESPAN AND WORKING METHODS
PART1 (1-2 MONTHS):
Conceptualization of the interaction model, design of a prototype to provide the performer with a basic sense of the technology for the start of the movement-based research (in close communication with the performance artist), integration of basic light and sound reactions, program-based design of parameters that respond to movement inputs, physical fabrication of microcontrollers, attachment of sensors. Design and fabrication of a casing that allows comfortable wear of the microcomputers on the body but is durable enough to withstand heavy friction as well as movements on the rope.
PART2 (4 MONTHS):
Analysis of the interaction model of the prototype, program-based adjustment of parameters in consultation with the performer, calibration of interactive parameters, stress testing of the software and hardware to avoid connectivity issues, optimization of light and sound patterns, possible adjustments to the casing.
Initiator, Concept, Technical Director, Light- & Soundcomposition, Code, Manufacturing:
Orkan-Kaan Piskin
Art Director, Performance Artist, Choreographer:
Rixa Rottonara (ROTTENART PRODUCTIONS)
Video Director, D.O.P. & Editor:
Ed James Harding
Administrative Assistant:
Sarah Düsterwald
Technical Support:
Piotr Lemieszczuk
Helping Hands:Maik Bauman
Maik Baumann
Elihu Ashong
FUNDED BY: