Folding Field
Performative Wearable Installation | 2025

Folding Field is a performative wearable that explores the translation of physical energy into perceptual experience. Developed during the FUNKEN x MAIN Residency at the MAIN Research Center (TU Chemnitz), the project integrates cutting-edge research on nanomembranes and their folding processes to inform both material design and human perception.

The work combines responsive fabrics embedded with light that react to the wearer’s movements, creating a dynamic, living surface that responds in real time. Sound, derived from electromagnetic field recordings made in the MAIN labs, extends the experience into the sonic dimension, transforming scientific data into spatial audio that interacts with the surrounding environment. This blend of light, sound, and movement creates a living interface where the body becomes a conduit for energetic and informational exchanges between the physical and digital realms.

Folding Field positions the body as an active participant in a continuous feedback loop with its surroundings, investigating how nanoscale phenomena and emergent behaviors of material systems shape our perception of space, movement, and energy. Through this immersive interaction, the installation stages a reflection on the invisible forces governing our interactions with the world, offering a visceral experience of the unseen dynamics that shape our existence.

Year: 2025
Medium: Performative wearable installation; responsive light, sound, and movement
Duration: Variable (performance-based)
Dimensions: Wearable / Performative

Photos: Fabian Thueroff