Dream Weaver

An interactive audiovisual installation inspired by dreams. These three plushies are made from found textiles and embedded with sensors. You are invited to pull, stretch, and play with them. Your touch is transformed into sound and visuals in real-time, creating a collaborative symphony with fellow audience members.

Medium
Reclaimed textiles, force sensors, stretch sensors, arduino micro controller, p5.js, sound, projection.

Exhibited
Brooklyn, NY. NYU IMA Summer Show, August 13, 2025.

Concept

This interactive installation translates the ephemeral world of dreams into a tangible, collaborative experience. The work features three plush sculptures suspended from the ceiling, each born from sketches of dream imagery and crafted from an eclectic mix of reclaimed textiles.

Embedded within these soft forms are force and stretch sensors that measure the audience's interaction—every pull, squeeze, and touch. 

These physical gestures are then fed into a p5.js sketch, which generates a live, evolving audiovisual scape. The pressure exerted on a plushie might create a beat, while stretching it could warp the corresponding visual projection or alter the pitch of a sound.

The piece invites intuitive play, encouraging participants to explore the connection between their actions and the resulting sensory output. As multiple people interact simultaneously, they become unwitting collaborators in a collective symphony of sight and sound. 

Role

I was involved in the ideation and designed everything from scratch, using recycled materials found on the floor to make the plushies, coded with a bit of a help from Google Gemini, and connect and wire the plushies and the p5 sketch using arduino micro controller.

Part I｜Ideation

Inspired by a dream I had, I wanted to make something soft and fluffy to encourage touch and playfulness.

Part II｜Making

Skills used
Graphic design, pattern making, sewing, coding (p5.js), physical computing (arduino), wiring, soldering.

Part III｜Play Test

Arduino microcontroller and lots of wiring

Part IV｜Installation

Poster & Sticker Design

We developed a house scent that is made with 100% all natural ingredients. Packed with an earthy mossy tone that reflects the humid climate of our motherland Taiwan. Key ingredients are 沒藥Myrrh / 聖木Palo santo / 橡苔Oakmoss.

We then made them into essential oil and mat cleaners.

Acknowledgement

Thank you Brian, Sarah