“A beautiful installation that distorts our own perception of time and reality through stunning abstract, fluid reflections.” —Nathan Riley
“An evocative experience that brings people together.” —Alan Hughes
Overview: By Allentown, Pennsylvania–based artist and creative developer Josh Miller, the interactive installation Time Stretched Thin connects the audience with the moment and encourages them to see time in a playful yet thought-provoking way. With supplied puck lights, participants stand and move in front of the camera that captures images of them, and a slit-scan algorithm dynamically stretches and compresses their movements over time, creating an ever-changing tapestry of light and motion projected onto a screen for all to see. Miller intentionally leaves the audience with a sense of wonder and a new perspective on the fleeting moments we share.
Comments by Josh Miller:
Was the subject of Time Stretched Thin new for you? “Time Stretched Thin marked several firsts for me. It was the first installation I designed specifically for a festival environment that incorporated live camera input, creating a system that responded directly to participants’ gestures in real time. I also experimented with projecting onto black fabric, which created the effect of an invisible surface so that only the light itself appeared to hover in space.
“Another new dimension was the addition of audio feedback. As participants moved, their actions generated corresponding sounds, reinforcing the sense that they were actively shaping the experience. Finally, this piece invited full-body engagement. Some people used the supplied puck lights to draw in the air, while others illuminated themselves and ‘painted’ with their own movements. In both cases, the boundary between audience and artwork dissolved completely.”
What was the project’s most challenging aspect? “One interesting aspect of presenting Time Stretched Thin was how the line of people waiting to participate became part of the instructional design. Watching others interact gave incoming participants a sense of how the piece functioned, even though it often took a few moments to fully understand the connection between their movements and the projection. To help this process, we added a simple but effective visual cue—a hula hoop placed on the ground to mark the ‘active’ zone. Standing within that circle became a kind of ritual, signaling where the transformation would occur.
“A more complex challenge was automation. The piece had to operate continuously for three months outdoors with no on-site supervision, relying only on my remote monitoring. It required multiple systems to communicate seamlessly in real time: camera software, projection mapping software, and two programs I developed to adjust for changing light and to generate both the visuals and sound dynamically.”
