Embodied data
The system does not treat RGB values as detached numbers. They remain connected to a body, a moment and a lived history.
Interactive audiovisual installation
SOMA CHROMA
A poetic translation from skin chroma
to a living landscape.
01
Premise · Skin as universe
The body is not a label.
It is a living archive.
SOMA CHROMA begins with one question: how do we perceive ourselves when the social gaze is replaced by an inward, curious one?
Every inch of skin holds a singular record of time: veins, scars, pigmentation, temperature and emotion. The installation reads a momentary chromatic trace and poetically translates it into mountains, vegetation, rivers and sound—turning cold data into an embodied encounter.
Poetic translation
The work does not reproduce skin scientifically. It releases its latent qualities through an audiovisual language.
Ritualistic interaction
A quiet gesture of contact becomes a safe ritual for observing, listening and reconnecting with the self.
02
Visitor journey · Four movements
How to enter
the living landscape
01
Approach
Stand in front of the display and locate the illuminated sensor probe. The system waits in a ready state.
02
Choose a trace
Bring the probe close to a vein, freckle, scar or any area of skin that feels personally meaningful.
03
Witness
RGB data reshapes the landscape and sound in real time. Stay still, then move slowly to hear and see subtle transitions.
04
Release
Move away from the sensor. After a short reset, the installation is ready for the next participant.
What is—and is not—collected
The sensor reads temporary RGB values; it does not photograph or identify the participant. At first contact, the program saves only the generated landscape frame.
03
One skin · Three ecological voices
See the colour.
Listen to its terrain.
Select a biome to hear a short browser-generated study inspired by the installation’s sound engine. Sound plays only after you choose.
R / MOUNTAIN
Geological memory
Red values shape the ruggedness of the visual terrain and open a grounded sonic layer: low stone resonance, a slow pulse and subtle stereo displacement.
- Visual
- Rugged elevation / dense contours
- Sound
- 38–61 Hz resonance / geological pulse
- Meaning
- Skeleton, memory and accumulated time
04
Probe · Messenger · Engine
An ecosystem of
sensing and translation
TCS3200
The probe reads reflected red, green and blue light from the skin.
Arduino
The messenger calibrates and sends RGB values as serial data.
Processing
The engine maps one data stream into particles, terrain, colour and sound.
Audiovisual landscape
A unique image and soundscape emerge from the participant’s momentary chroma.
Concept generation · From skin to landscape
Concept generation
I. Premise: Skin as Universe
Bypassing social labels to arrive directly at the personal epic. Every inch of skin is a micro-universe, inscribed with a unique life story. For this, we create an interface for a profound encounter.
II. Metaphor: Texture as Landscape
To translate the unseen inner narrative with a universal, poetic language. “Texture is landscape.” Skin and earth share a common destiny, sculpted by time and external forces: scars are canyons, veins are rivers. This metaphor forms the core of our artistic translation.
III. Ecosystem: Probe, Messenger, Engine
To construct a fluid, digital life form. The sensor acts as the probe, collecting the geology; the Arduino as the messenger, encoding and transmitting; Processing as the engine, rendering it into a complex, fluid, organic world composed of countless particles.
IV. Generation: Skeleton, Blood, Soul
Injecting aesthetics through code. Perlin Noise constructs the invisible skeleton; myriads of particles become the flowing blood; and the participant's unique skin color is injected as the soul of the entire landscape. Finally, from raw data to a flowing, visual poem.
SOMA CHROMA · CONCEPT
SOMA listens to CHROMA
Soma, derived from Greek, is the “archive of life” that harbors memory and emotion; it is the project's source. Chroma, in turn, is this archive's most honest, intrinsic language and “chromatic code” (RGB data), serving as the medium for translation.
The work as a whole is therefore a poetic translation: it listens to the Chroma of the Soma and renders it into a living landscape, ultimately revealing the core philosophy that the most profound aesthetics originate from the most authentic truth.
05
Installation manual · Before opening
From eight wires
to a living field
Hardware checklist
TCS3200 → Arduino wiring
TCS3200Arduino UnoFunction
VCC5VPower
GNDGNDGround
S0D4Frequency scaling A
S1D5Frequency scaling B
S2D6Colour filter A
S3D7Colour filter B
OUTD8Pulse output
OE (if present)GNDKeep sensor output enabled
Disconnect USB power before changing any wire. Confirm VCC and GND first, then connect the signal pins.
Software startup sequence
- 01Upload Arduino code
Open the TCS3200 sketch, select Arduino Uno and the correct USB port, then upload.
- 02Verify serial data
Open Serial Monitor at 9600 baud. Confirm that each line follows the format R,G,B.
- 03Close Serial Monitor
Only one program can use the port. Close Arduino’s monitor before launching Processing.
- 04Run the main sketch
Open SOMA_CHROMA_Final_With_Sound.pde. Keep SomaSoundEngine.pde in the same sketch folder, then press Run.
- 05Check output
The image should fill the display and the audio device should open automatically. Test one skin contact.
Sensor calibration
A
Read the room
Avoid direct sunlight and highly reflective surfaces. Keep the sensor lighting consistent.
B
Fix the distance
Hold skin close to—but not pressed against—the LEDs. Use the same distance for all tests.
C
Tune the ranges
If values stay near 0 or 255, adjust the pulseIn mapping ranges in the Arduino readColor() function.
Troubleshooting
Processing cannot connect to the serial port
Close Arduino Serial Monitor and any other program using the port. Reconnect USB, then restart Processing. If several ports are listed, select the Arduino port explicitly.
Skin contact is not detected
Check brightness and RGB values on screen. Keep the sensor close to the skin, reduce stray light and recalibrate the Arduino mapping ranges for the exhibition space.
The visuals work but there is no sound
Check the computer’s output device and volume. Press M once to clear accidental mute. Restart the sketch after changing audio hardware.
The state changes too quickly or flickers
Stabilize the sensor distance and room lighting. Increase REARM_THRESHOLD if the installation needs a longer reset interval.
The frame rate becomes slow
Close background applications, use the discrete GPU if available and reduce MAX_PARTICLES for lower-powered computers.
06
Code architecture · One data stream
Visual and sound
share the same skin data.
01ARDUINO / C++
Sense & transmit
// TCS3200 → serial RGB
readColor();
Serial.print(redValue);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(greenValue);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.println(blueValue);Reads three filtered frequencies and sends a clean comma-separated data packet every 50 ms.
02PROCESSING / JAVA
Translate & coordinate
// One touch, two outputs
somaSound.triggerContact(
sensorR, sensorG, sensorB
);
somaSound.update(
stableSkinForSound,
sensorR, sensorG, sensorB
);The main sketch stabilizes sensor contact, constructs the particle landscape and sends the same RGB values to sound.
03JAVA SOUND
Resonate & crossfade
// Continuous biome blend
mountainMix +=
(targetMountain - mountainMix)
* mixCoefficient;
renderMountain();
renderVegetation();
renderRiver();Three independent sound worlds crossfade smoothly; first contact inherits the current RGB landscape.
07
Exhibition field notes
The work becomes complete
when another body enters.
01 / SETUP
Arrange the site & set up the installation
The display, computer, probe and sound system are assembled as one continuous circuit. Lighting, sensor distance, cable routes and full-screen output are checked before participants enter.
02 / CONTACT
A close, illuminated reading
The participant chooses a personally meaningful area—a vein, freckle or scar—and brings the illuminated probe close to the skin. The gesture is intimate, but the sensor records only momentary RGB values.
03 / TRANSLATION
Participant testing
As the probe moves, the screen changes in real time. Subtle differences in the body become mountains, vegetation and rivers, allowing each participant to witness a landscape that belongs to that specific moment.
04 / REFLECTION
Discussion and deliberation
Participants compare their changing landscapes and discuss how scars, colour and bodily data can hold memory rather than deficiency. The work shifts from individual encounter to collective reflection.
05 / DIALOGUE
Live interviews & guided tours
Guided conversations connect the visible transformation with the project’s ideas of identity, perception and embodied data. Listening to participants becomes part of the installation’s final form.
“The screen did not show a fixed identity. It showed a landscape that kept becoming—something that felt like me, and yet larger than me.”
Synthesis of participant reflections
08
Project film · Full encounter
Watch the landscape
listen back to the body.
Soma remembers. Chroma speaks.