Light is Like Water
An interactive diorama experience based on the short story "Light is Like Water" by Gabriel García Márquez
TOOLS
Processing
Arduino (C++)
YEAR
2017
Concept
The story on which I based my work is titled “La luz es como el agua”, or “Light is Like Water” in English, written by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez in 1978. For the project, I used two edited (abridged) versions of the story: one in English, translated by myself, and the other in Spanish.
Two aspects of this story made it particularly adequate for an interactive media project. Firstly, the text deals with electricity: it tells the story of two brothers who cause light (from electric circuits) to “flow” like water, ending on a tragic note. I had been interested in working with NeoPixels at the time, and thought they could be used in this project to show light inside a house, making it look like water.
Secondly, the story allows for interactivity in a fantastic way. The title of the text comes from the narrator’s confession that he once told the two brothers that light is like water. Thus, the narrator, who tells most of the story in third person, reveals to the reader his role and direct impact on the events that unfold. I wanted the user to be directly implicated in the story’s events as well, having them “cause” said events.
Project
The “main” component of the project is a house built mostly out of cardboard, divided into two sections: the top level (or the fifth floor, according to the story) and the bottom level (or the first floor, in my interpretation a basement).
The top level contains the setting of the story and the roof of the building, which has two servo motors hidden inside it. The motors allow the up and down movement of a paper-and-cardboard boat. This level also has four lamps with an LED each that turn on and off in response to the user’s actions. Additionally, there are two other pieces of furniture inside the house: a grand piano and a bar with a wine bottle, both of which are referenced in the story. The walls and ceiling are lined with NeoPixels strips that simulate the water-electricity of the plot.
The bottom level is full of wires that connect the top level’s components to power, as well as to Processing and Arduino through a RedBoard. One of the box's sides is open to let out the cables of the RedBoard, the NeoPixels strips, and a small light, so that I could connect them all to an external power source. The small light illuminates four wires that the user has to connect and disconnect throughout the development of the plot. I chose to use a breadboard and breadboard wires for the user interaction because, given that the story deals with circuits, I wanted the user to have the experience of messing with the house’s actual electric system.