Fluidacje

Supervisor:
Professor Jerzy Porębski

Studio of Product Design (No. 3)

>Marcin Ebert

I am interested in the area where design meets other fields, for instance art and science. The Coming Out pieces result from explorations of people with very different experiences. One example might be the Fluidations project, the result of collaboration between a physicist, chemist, electrician, designing engineer, electronics engineer and a designer. I am inspired by natural materials, physical and chemical phenomena and the potential use of their beauty. Often these explorations, in addition to tangible objects, take the form of performances which engage the audience in the creative process.
It is important to me that my designs are significant, needed; they do not necessarily have to meet basic material needs but should address also higher ones: aesthetic, spiritual.

>Professor Jerzy Porębski

Fluidation is a term coined by Marcin Ebert to name his animations which use the optical properties of liquids. He has been engaged in fluidation for some years, developing large-format performances to accompany music concerts. However, these were intuitive and only semi-professional activities. He wanted to explore the subject, develop appropriate instrumentation and find additional applications.
Hence Marcin started researching, focusing on one hand on the properties of different types of fluids, and on the other on optical devices and systems, but also on the notation of variable images and the art education of children. He has collaborated with scientists from the Copernicus Science Centre, musicians, musicologists and educators. He has conducted many experiments, consultations and workshops. He has collected rich material and gained valuable experience. Eventually, he decided to design and produce a professional device – THE FLUIDOSCOPE – used for projecting images of fluids and their mechanical and chemical transformations. He enriched the instrumentarium of fluidation tools, including a wave generator and schlieren mask, thanks to which he can reveal the untapped potential of combining properties of liquids and light.
Using this apparatus, Marcin also created a programme of educational activities: he conducted and recorded theatre workshops for children. In his shadow theatre the background for cardboard characters and elements was not provided by white light but by colourful and dynamic, live-animated images related to the storyline. In another performance music was visualised, with use of the same tools. The light show was supposed to follow the dynamics and atmosphere of the music. I believe that such workshops encourage children to develop the ability to improvise, spontaneity, imagination and teamwork skills.
The final element in the degree piece was an attempt to record the course of the fluidation. Marcin developed a musical score by combining graphic symbols and painting elements, which depicted the course of the piece. This allows for control of such parameters as colour, value or any other effects that are applied, but also facilitates reproduction of the visual piece, while accommodating any possible incidental phenomena resulting from the nature of the actual fluids.