On October 27, 2016, ‘2045 × LIFE PAINT Supported by VOLVO CAR JAPAN’ was held at UNIT/UNICE in Daikanyama, Tokyo.
‘2045’ is an event organized by Daito Manabe and Nao Tokui (Qosmo) that explores the future of music and technology through practical applications. This time, it was held in collaboration with ‘LIFE PAINT,’ provided by Volvo Car Japan. ‘LIFE PAINT’ is a special spray that glows brightly when illuminated by lights in dark places. Media artist Zach Lieberman was invited to create a live installation as collaborator.
In the performance, the performers wore costumes sprayed with LIFEPAINT. The process was captured by an infrared camera, which extracted the patterned areas from the footage in real-time and applied effects.
The retroreflective material used in LIFEPAINT has the property of returning light to the direction from which it was incident. Therefore, areas coated with this material appear distinctly bright when captured by an infrared camera, which emits infrared light from its body. However, since infrared light is not visible to the human eye, the costumes appear plain in reality, while patterns emerge only within the video.
For this event, Rhizomatiks Design developed and released the iOS app ‘2045.’ This app logs the songs listened to, which influences the AI DJ’s song selection during the event. Additionally, it features functions such as Like/Dislike and song requests, allowing for real-time participation in the DJ performance.
*’LIFE PAINT’ is an item used in a promotion by Volvo Cars UK to highlight the addition of a nighttime detection feature to the ‘Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection System with Auto Braking’ in the new Volvo XC90. It is colorless and invisible during the day, but when exposed to light in dark places, the sprayed areas glow brightly.
