Jessica Scalzo

About

Jessica Scalzo is an experience designer, researcher and maker. She had worked in innovation consulting, communications and social advocacy in New York and Asia prior to studying at RCA. Her practice integrates design research with digital technology.

Contact

Degree Details

Statement

My work explores human experience and behavior in a rapidly changing technological society. While my practice is concerned with designing solutions to real-world problems, I am inspired by speculative futures and technology as a medium to gain insight into the mind. 

In my RCA degree show installation, I use digitally rendered 3D visuals, physical computing and performance to build the audience's understanding of and emotional resonance with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

dis(ORDER)

Mandelbulb
Mandelbulb

dis(ORDER) is an immersive installation reflecting 8 experiences of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Through metronomic sound, digitally projected visuals and dance loops, it reveals the underlying internal processes of OCD and how they may be affected by common anxiety treatments. Although termed a ‘disorder’, ironically, there is great order in what is seemingly chaotic.

As a physical installation, the multi-sensory piece is interactive, allowing the audience to determine the course of the live performance through introducing external variables (i.e. OCD treatments). For the virtual show, the installation is adapted to the screen - just a taste of the full experience!

The imagery displayed below is of the Mandelbrot equation, chosen as the project’s visuals due to its repetitive or self-similar character. The Mandelbrot is a mathematical equation in the field of fractals, uniquely known for its infinite feedback loop and complex orderly pattern. Some believe it is the underlying order of the universe! Applied to OCD, it describes how the feedback loop of the mind continues to amplify fear and obsession. To see more details and to interact with the visuals, please see my project website: jscalz.github.io/dis-order.

Medium: Digital, Live Performance

In Collaboration with:

dis(ORDER) Virtual Show

Play me as you view the project!
[Perpetuum Mobile, Part II : dis(ORDER) mix] A collaboration with Dimitris Menexopoulos from his track, Perpetuum Mobile, Part II. Edit includes research participant testimonials and metronome 'ticking'.

Launch Project
Mandelbulb
Mandelbulb — Infinitely self-repeating

Launch Project
Short GIF of the animation
Short GIF of the animation — Launch to play the game!

Launch Project

The virtual platform for my final piece can be viewed at jscalz.github.io/dis-order/. You can interact with the animated version and see more details about the project.

dis(ORDER): Proposed Physical Show

Viewing Stage
Viewing Stage — Audience is seated in the half dome stage area. Mandelbulb visuals are projected onto the dome.
Stage Views
Stage Views — Proposed half dome stage to be made of transparent mesh material
Dancers
Dancers — Before lockdown, I was working with two dancers to capture the spirit of the project. Dancers would have performed under the half dome surrounded by the projected visuals. Dancers: Gabriela Garcia and Lionel Avignon
Dancers on Stage
Dancers on Stage — Stage layout with positioning of dancers and audience, surrounded by metronomes

An Immersive Chaos of Order

In the physical show, the audience could alter the course of the performance by pressing buttons (representing OCD treatments) built into the base of the stage. The performance (dancers, visuals and sound) shifts according to which and how often the buttons are pressed, coinciding with how research participants reported the effectiveness of their treatment. As the performance reacts to the audience, the audience can then react to the performance creating a live feedback loop akin to the OCD mind reacting to external variables and triggers.

Size: 30min live performance; ongoing interactive element

dis(ORDER): The Making

Mandelbrot
Mandelbrot — This is the actual image of the Mandelbrot equation in 2D. We can zoom in on the image infinitely as the equation is a never-ending feedback loop.
Feedback Loop Chart
Feedback Loop Chart — To better understand feedback loops, I sketched this chart to pin to my wall. A feedback loop receiving only positive feedback, amplifies order into chaos. A loop needs negative feedback to reach equilibrium, however, an inordinate amount will lead to stagnation. In relation to OCD, the more one must obsess or fear, the greater the obsession becomes. The "negative feedback" in this project is external treatment, whether professional (therapy) or alternative (meditation).
Mandelbulb Editing
Mandelbulb Editing — Program: Mandelbulber
Animating in 2D
Animating in 2D — Editing of an animation: zoomed-in spirals of the Mandelbrot figure. Program: Unity
Spirals
Spirals — A different perspective of the zoomed-in Mandelbrot
Work in Progress
Work in Progress — In January, RCA had the Work in Progress event where Gabriela and Lionel performed an initial version of the dance along with the sound of metronomes in the background. The audience could "plug in" the metronomes to have the contrast of a silent versus busy mind.
Metronome Prototype
Metronome Prototype — A prison of the mind - speed of "ticking" determined through Arduino code. Made from bamboo, wire and a stepper motor.
A Physical Computing Mishmash
A Physical Computing Mishmash — Early in the process, I had to figure out how to synchronize all the metronomes in Arduino.

The making process moved from analogue to digital in a short space of time. The project began as a live performance piece with hand-made "ticking" metronomes surrounding the stage. Metronomes were made using Arduino and motors. As research progressed, fractal art, specifically Mandelbrots, became integral to the performance.