Imagine painting your body with a specially formulated ink and your gestures, movements or touch allowing you to communicate with electronic devices directly. Bare is this new parasitic technology being explored where you apply the special paint to your body via brush, stamp, or spray. The paint acts as a medium to send information from a person to another, transmit data from a person to a computer, or power small LEDs. It’s however limited to simple applications such as switching and data transfer that consume less power, but the potential is unlimited.

In the future we can see this technology being explored in the arena of dance, music, computer interfaces, communication and medical devices. It even has a special place of contention in areas where wires are cumbersome. The Ink per-se is temporary, non-toxic and water-soluble and is composed of non-metallic conductive particles suspended in food and cosmetic additives. Thus it is safe for skin application.
The circuitry between the ink and the electronic device is completed when the small electrodes are placed directly on to the skin, which in turn transmits the data.

The Music Box seen here was an experimental performance that involved simultaneously choreographing dance and composing music using Bare as a conductive medium. A professional dancer was invited to perform in the box, and as different parts of her body touched its surface, musical notes and patterns were created. The result of this direct interaction between movement and sound was a unique and compelling performance.

Designers: Bibi Nelson, Matt Johnson, Isabel Lizardi & Becky Pilditch