01101110 : An audiovisual installation based on the Cellular Automaton Rule 110

This paper presents and discusses in depth an interactive audiovisual installation created by the authors. The title of the work, 01101110, corresponds to the number 110 and refers to the Cellular Automaton (CA) Rule 110. The installation is composed by a series of snapshots of the evolution of the CA, projected on white canvases, or directly on the wall, by custom designed and custom made projectors. The projected images, which the authors refer to as shadow paintings, are accompanied by an artificial soundscape, also based on the same automaton. When the visitors walk across the projected image, they interact with the sonic and the light output both physically and digitally by obscuring the projection and by making the light turn on and off. The outcomes and the process of the creation of the work are presented equally in a technical and aesthetic context. The minimalistic language of the piece may be traced back to the early pioneers of the visual arts such as Donald Judd or in music to composers such as Steve Reich