Case Study: Interactive Haptic-Sound Installation INSIGHT
Insight is an interactive haptic-sound installation that combines touch, sound, and scent, promoting participatory engagement and accessibility in art. It is aimed at both sighted and visually impaired individuals, inviting them to interact with a tactile artistic book that contains an excerpt from Wordsworth’s poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. Through sound descriptions, Braille, raised illustrations, and soundscapes, it creates a multisensory experience that enhances observation, imagination, and introspection. The design is based on theoretical approaches to sensory perception, imagination, and sound, while the tactile pages of the artistic book, with integrated interactive systems and open-source software, allow participants to activate corresponding soundscapes. The project approaches accessibility as an integral part of the creative process, encouraging experiential participation. By combining literature, sensory technology, and design, it highlights the power of multisensory art to redefine the relationship between accessibility, creativity, and artistic expression. The goal is to reveal the multifaceted dimension of human existence in society, giving the audience the opportunity to explore creative auditory description and experience new forms of artistic expression. The pursuit is based on an introspective approach that leads to insight—gaining knowledge beyond the senses and logic, illuminating the spirit, and realizing a truth that transcends usual cognitive processes, for both sighted and non-sighted individuals.
Dimitris Batsis
Dimitris Batsis is a sound artist and academic researcher. He holds a PhD in Biomusic (the conversion of biological signals into sound art through research in new media) from the Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences at the University of Ioannina, as well as a Master’s degree in Contemporary Arts and Music from Oxford Brookes University. His research focuses on biological functions in relation to new media and sciences, as well as sound design and interactive systems. His creative work extends to sound installations, performances, and video art, using audiovisual applications and coding. He develops sound works through studio practices rooted primarily in exploring the connection between sound and image in the field of audiovisual perception. He has participated in international festivals, exhibitions, and artistic events in various countries. Dimitris has taught music technology and sound design in audiovisual applications at universities in Greece and the United Kingdom, focusing mainly on sound art. Website: https://dbatsis.wixsite.com/dbatsis
Athanasios Kokkinos
Athanasios Kokkinos (a.k.a. Arurkokk) is a visual artist, educator, and researcher. He is a PhD candidate in the Department of Culture, Creative Media, and Industries at the University of Thessaly, a graduate of the Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Ioannina, and the Department of Economics at the same university. His research interests focus on visual arts, folklore, brut art, and the concept of creativity. In his artistic practice, he uses various techniques and expressive mediums such as painting, printmaking, collage, digital, and audiovisual media to map internal landscapes and depict the intersection of the inner voice with external noise. His works are either presented in exhibitions or used as content for the creation of artist books and limited edition prints, which he publishes himself. He has exhibited his work in Greece, Thailand, Australia, Spain, and the Czech Republic in solo and group exhibitions, as well as in art book festivals. Website: https://www.arurkokk.com/
Christos Stavrou
Christos Stavrou is an Assistant Lecturer at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Ioannina. He received his PhD in the history & aesthetics of cinema and film subtitling from the Ionian University. He holds a Master’s degree in Translation and Interpretation Theory and Teaching (Ionian University) and a second Master’s degree in Cultural Studies (Université Paris Nanterre). He graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and the Department of French Language and Literature (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and has also completed undergraduate studies at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris. He has worked as an assistant professor at the Technological and Educational Institute of Epirus and the University of Ioannina and has participated in European academic mobility programs. He is a member of the Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) and the European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and is an assistant editor at The Journal of Audiovisual Translation (JAT). He is a co-editor of the volume AVT as a Bridge for Communication: From Language Learning to Accessibility. Additionally, he has participated in conferences and symposia in Greece and abroad. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals.