'Simulacra and Emulation' the interactive art piece

'Simulacra and Emulation'[sic] the interactive art piece

Simulacra :
a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance.
an effigy, image, or representation

Emulation:

mirror, copy, echo, emulate, affect, imitate, caricature, impersonate, counterfeit, parody, travesty, mock

This interactive art work will explore ideas of free will and control, relationships between the viewer and space/time, and the viewer and the media.
The installation is a small enclosed space, with one entrance, and on the opposite wall a large display screen. The viewer wears anaglyph glasses (red/cyan 3d), and as he enters the installation he sees his image on the screen, in 3d; a digital stereoscopic mirror. As he moves through the space his image is replaced with another person, -the 'mirrored' movements are no longer his own, but those of another. Infra red sensors in the ceiling of the installation trigger the changes on the display. Only when he is close to the display, will the 'mirrored' image be his own.
The images of the other people he sees are recorded footage of previous visitors to the installation. His own movements are recorded, and thus become the footage that future visitors will see; he is becoming part of the installation, part of the media, part of the machine. Will his behaviour change when he realises this, what image will he leave for future uses, what can he make of the past viewers, how have they interacted with the machine?.
The illusionistic nature of the stereoscopy is compelling- the images seem to defy space as the 3d elements reach out to the viewer. They appear both more real (than a flat image), and unreal in the filtered colours and not-quite-true perspective - this mirrors the nature of interaction itself, which simultaneously implies free will for the user and control over him.

images to follow...