Looking Outwards 09: A Focus on Women and Non-binary Practitioners in Computational Art

The “Augmented Hand Series” is a real-time interactive software system that presents playful transformations of participants’ hands. The project was developed in 2013-2014 by Chris Sugrue, Golan Levin, and Kyle McDonald. Chris Sugrue, currently based in Paris, is an artist and programmer developing interactive installations, audio-visual performances, and experimental interfaces. She received her Masters degree in Fine Arts in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design. Since then, she worked as a creative engineer, a lead developer, and also as a teaching artist. She enjoys experimenting with technology in playful and curious ways. The “Augmented Hand Series” is one great example. The project is presented as a box that allows visitors to insert their hands, then a screen will display a “reimagined” version of their hand. For instance, there may be an extra finger on their hand or a finger is relocated to the other side of the palm. I find this project to be extremely interesting because it provides such a dynamic and fun way for visitors to interact with the software. The resulting behavior of the displayed hand depends on both the visitor and the algorithm. I really admire that dynamic aspect of this series.