HOT•BED is pleased to present Synesthesia, an interactive installation by Severino Alfonso and Loukia Tsafoulia of the Synesthetic Research and Design Lab at Thomas Jefferson University. The project is the inaugural exhibition at MICRO•GALLERY, a new experimental space within HOT•BED (723 Chestnut Street). This presentation will mark the first public preview of Synesthesia before it leaves to be exhibited at the renowned ECC Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy (May-November 2021). Synesthesia stems from Alfonso and Tsafoulia’s extensive scholarly work at The Lab, which serves as a collaborative research and prototyping platform where interactive design and emergent health sciences meet. The immersive installation investigates the relationships and intersections where  responsive environments and design meet; a manifestation of abstracted bodily data, projected back onto an analog domain. Synesthesia will be on view to the public by appointment only from February 19 - March 6, 2021. 

Synesthesia's bulbous, tent-like form is made of textile, aluminum and fiberglass poles and 3D printed components, designed to draw the viewer in. Abstractions dance across the installation’s  soft and ambient dormant state, only activated by communal participation. Alfonso and Tsafoulia encourage visitors to get close to the work and peer through small portals to get a look at the inner core of the structure. As viewers close in, their own eyes suddenly become superimposed onto the work’s surface, initiating an active conversation between the participants and the installation.  

Its atmospheric, soft interface allows no physical bodies inside, but rather consumes them virtually, inviting the human body to approach in a "game" of curiosity. In Synesthesia, body and scene enter a mutual agency, a constant state of becoming. Physical bodies reside inside the installation both temporarily and indefinitely as data. Acting as a living organism, Synesthesia produces dynamic, unexpected and sensorial experiences, never static nor predetermined; human. 

Designed as a travelling exhibition, Synesthesia relies on its participants and community to make the project come alive. Because of its communal drive, the installation is capable of engaging a vast array of people coming from differing communities, places and backgrounds. The inclusive nature of the project initiates different ways of thinking and as the installation moves to its next location, its afterlife triggers and amplifies narratives and cultural interactions. 

Synesthesia brings together man and machine, providing a rational and emotional sense of what it means to live among technology that can itself converse. The installation aims to raise awareness on the design potential behind responsive environments and by understanding their nuances, limitless possibilities and opportunities can appear. 

Synesthesia is the pilot to a series of interactive installations by the Synesthetic Research and Design Lab. The installation is possible through the collaboration of experts and students across various disciplines at Thomas Jefferson University including architecture, textile, industrial, user experience and interaction design.

Due to COVID-19, HOT•BED is appointment only; however, walk-ins are allowed and dependent on the number of people in the space at the time. To make your appointment today, please reserve at https://calendly.com/hotbedappointments/synesthesia. For more information on upcoming exhibitions and events, please visit https://www.hotbedphilly.com/ or Instagram and Facebook at @hotbedphilly. 

About Synesthetic Research & Design Lab 

The Synesthetic Research and Design Lab, at the College of Architecture and Built Environment, Thomas Jefferson University serves as a collaborative research and prototyping platform where interactive design and emergent health sciences meet highlighting the recursion between the individual and their environment. The Synesthetic Lab is a newly minted platform that aims to take risks in developing methodologies that engage critically with interactions of humans, objects and environments.  

 About Thomas Jefferson University

Thomas Jefferson University is a leader in interdisciplinary, professional education. Jefferson, home of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the College of Architecture and the Built Environment, is a preeminent university delivering high-impact education in 160 undergraduate and graduate programs to 8,100 students in architecture, business, design, engineering, fashion and textiles, health, science and social science. The new Jefferson is re-defining the higher education value proposition with an approach that is collaborative and active; increasingly global; integrated with industry; focused on research across disciplines to foster innovation and discovery; and technology-enhanced. 

About MICRO•GALLERY

MICRO•GALLERY is an experimental exhibition space located on the second floor of HOT•BED that is devoted to immersive artistic endeavors. Primed for transformation, MICRO•GALLERY acts as a blank space; a no-limits playground for guest curators and artists to produce and exhibit innovative work. Acting as an extension of gallery programming, the small nature and intimacy of the space allows for a concentrated dose of risks, deviations and opportunities. MICRO•GALLERY accepts proposals from leading curators, artists and collectives on a rolling basis.