Presence by Stefano Fake & The Fake Factory (2022–present)

Presence is an interactive installation conceived by Stefano Fake and The Fake Factory, with the technical design framework developed in TouchDesigner by Alberto Gennaro. This work foregrounds a central theme in The Fake Factory’s creative philosophy: the physical presence of the audience as active agents within the artwork. Rather than mere observers, visitors become integral performers whose movements dynamically shape both gestural choreography and chromatic composition within the installation. 

Interactive installations constitute a form of artistic practice that actively solicits audience participation, whether through technological mediation or handcrafted mechanisms. These works are frequently kinetic in nature, transforming static objects into dynamic, participatory experiences. By foregrounding interaction, such installations challenge conventional modes of spectatorship associated with traditional art forms, shifting the emphasis from passive observation to active engagement and immersion.

The artwork under discussion exemplifies this shift. Unlike prerecorded or pre-rendered visual material, the installation generates imagery in real time, continuously shaped by the interaction between participants and the system. As viewers position themselves before the screens, their silhouettes are captured and reconfigured into abstract visual forms.

This process is facilitated through the integration of Kinect sensors and cameras, which register bodily movements and gestures. The captured data is then translated into evolving visual representations, producing an environment in which participants witness abstracted versions of themselves projected within the artwork.

Such installations not only engage audiences but also invite them to experiment with their own corporeal gestures as vehicles of artistic expression. In doing so, they destabilize the boundary between physical and digital domains, offering an evolving, generative encounter with art that is both participatory and immersive.

The aesthetic and conceptual DNA of Presence echoes early video-art experiments, notably Norman McLaren’s Pas de deux (1968), and Stefano Fake’s own explorations in the early 2000s, such as The Essence of Dance (2004–2005). In this contemporary installation, the traditional dancer is replaced by the everyday museum-goer, effectively democratizing the role of performer and redefining immersive art as a participatory space where anyone—instinctively—becomes central to the experience.

Visitors physically engage with the installation through movement, generating infinite gestural and color sequences in real time. The body becomes both instrument and catalyst: every shift produces a visual response, turning improvisational motion into vivid chromatic expression iicedimburgo.esteri.it+1. This capacity for co-creation in the moment imbues Presence with a sense of immediacy and unpredictability that is both aesthetically striking and emotionally resonant.

As one of the most significant immersive artworks of recent years, Presence builds upon and advances the tradition of experiential art pioneered by Stefano Fake. The work exemplifies the studio’s mission to dissolve the boundary between spectator and artwork, empowering visitors to inhabit, shape, and transform the visual environment in real time.