Sunken ripples: exploring performative interactions with non-planar displays

Interactive installations staged in unusual settings create compelling experiences that blend explicit and implicit performances. When users can participate in the performance of an unfolding story, they perform for the others who may be watching. In this paper, we explore interactive installations from a performative perspective to exploit performance in this context. First, we discuss five key themes that inspired the design of our installation: visibility of manipulation and effects; continuous and discrete exhibition; peripheral and central content; curating and discovering interaction; and distributed and central staging. Second, we present Sunken Ripples, an interactive experience that explores these themes by combining a spherical display with an epic IMAX screen. We exhibited Sunken Ripples in two forty-five minute showings as part of a film festival. We discuss the success of the design based on feedback from twenty-three participants who attended the exhibition.