Media Center partner Victoria Vesna developed the interactive exhibition "Mood Swings" for the Inside Out Loud exhibit, the first significant survey of contemporary American art to explore critical issues related to women's health.

From the artist's website:

Mood Swings creates states of emotion and perception by translating the viewer's body into a swarm of moving particles that change "moods" from one extreme to another. As the visitor's image is captured on a live video camera, radical shifts in color and sounds occur in the projection while particles and poetic texts emerge and dissolve in response to the viewer's movement. The seven colors change with audio shifts, moving from irritating and disturbing to peaceful and calming.

The use of new technologies in Mood Swings creates an interface between virtual and real worlds and engages the viewer by inciting responses to the audio and visual transmutations.

This work is informed by the artist's study of Indian chakra system along with her collaboration with a research group led by Dr. Ken Wells, Professor-in-Residence of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA who studies environmental effects on mental health.

Key Participants: Victoria Vesna
Project Website: www.vw.arts.ucla.edu/moodswings