Max Schweder

Transformation — Bochum

Interactive Multimedia-Installation at Westring 22 — Bochum

For this project, I was the project lead and developed the concept together with Tobias Hartmann.

Project Documentation by Fabian Klein

The artist collective “Westring 22” transformed the building at Westring 22 in Bochum into an experiential, multimedia, interactive, audiovisual, and evolving installation called TRANSFORMATION in the summer of 2020.

The TRANSFORMATION project highlights and addresses the transition of the Westring 22 building from one phase of its existence to the next. Like the city of Bochum, the building itself is undergoing change. This change is not meant to go unnoticed but to be illuminated and clarified. The interactive, audiovisual installation by Max Schweder, Mario Simon, and Dr. Tobias Hartmann allows visitors to become part of this transformation.

ConCept


The artist collective “Westring 22” transformed the building at Westring 22 in Bochum into an experiential, multimedia, interactive, audiovisual, and evolving installation called TRANSFORMATION in the summer of 2020.

The artist collective “Westring 22” consists of:

  • Max Schweder – Project management, concept, and interactive visualization
  • Mario Simon – Concept, mentoring, and visualization
  • Tobias Hartmann – Reactive audio installation
  • Natalja Hipke – Objects
  • Dominik Bay – Technical realization

The TRANSFORMATION project highlights and addresses the transition of the building from one phase of its existence to the next. Like the city of Bochum, the building itself is undergoing change. This change is not meant to go unnoticed, but to be illuminated and clarified. The interactive, audiovisual installation by Max Schweder, Mario Simon, and Tobias Hartmann allows visitors to become part of this transformation.

The focus of the installation is on the basement. Visitors will be able to see from a distance that the building is not merely empty but is undergoing transformation. Inside, illuminated sculptures can be seen. Structures made of canvas, illuminated with colored light, appear like technologized cocoons, emphasizing the building’s metamorphosis. It is preparing for a new era.

Objects: Natalja Hipke


As the visitor approaches, they notice that the lights are in motion. The cocoons pulse. On them, vibrant images of change are visible.

The animations depict both abstract and concrete images that represent time and transience, demolition and construction, upheaval and new beginnings. They address the transition from the analogue to the digital age in general, as well as the specific changes occurring in Bochum.


As the visitor walks along the building to the main entrance, they are greeted by posters in the display case in front of the entrance. These inform them that they can become part of the installation as soon as they step in front of the entrance door. If they choose to step in front of the entrance door, a 3D camera immediately captures them. Their virtual and animated mirror image is then integrated into the audiovisual installation at the main entrance. Their virtual likeness becomes part of the installation.

The sculpture behind the glass resembles a shattered, surreal mirror. The visitor sees themselves in it, for example, as a three-dimensional point cloud, as a giant over a virtual Bochum. This virtual mirror image of the visitor can touch and move the virtual points of the animation.

Visualization: Max Schweder

None of this is recorded. Everything is generated in real time for the moment.

The visitor notices signs at the entrance indicating that they can use a smartphone with headphones to also hear the transformation of Westring 22. Using the smartphone, the visitor opens a website that plays the sounds of the audiovisual installation. The visitor quickly realizes that these sounds are synchronized with the pulsing of the lights and animations. Light, animation, and sound react in real time to the visitor’s interaction with the audiovisual installation. The visitor has connected and networked with the building. They are no longer standing in front of a vacant property but interacting with an audiovisual artwork.

The installation itself changes over the course of its existence. The artist collective Westring 22 actively oversees their installation. They will respond to local and global current events, incorporating these into the context of the Westring building and addressing them through the images in their visualizations. The artists work with the space and the building, bringing everything into motion and change.

The illuminated cocoons and the virtual mirror will change their shapes and colours over time. But the goal remains the same: to artistically accompany the building’s transition from one phase to the next, and to allow visitors to participate in this process: TRANSFORMATION.