Play with Me

Play with me is a place to meet and share that relies on our natural tendency to experiment and to be caught up in play. It takes the form of a set of devices activated by the swaying, walking or bouncing of users. Each of these devices produces a rhythm, a melodic sequence or different harmonies, parts of a musical composition that can be modulated by the amplitude of the movement and the pressure of the hands. The arrival of a second user makes it clear that it is possible to develop a close complementarity, encouraging people to play with the installation and to experiment more through the body and the music. The intuitiveness of the devices is thus one of the keys of the project, as well as the musical logic.

The latter is based on sequences that can be easily combined with each other so that a non-musician can easily appropriate the object. The possibility of modulating these sequences and the rhythm offer an important variety of compositions in order to give the sensation of composing a piece, a bit like one could do in a small orchestra with improvisation. The overall logic is to propose a simplified version of this orchestra so that anyone can be part of it and feel connected to the other participants, encouraging listening and sharing.

By creating a collective and spontaneous experience and by playing on the excitement produced by the game, Play with me gives the possibility to free oneself from the social barrier linked to the interaction with strangers and creates the conditions for a possible exchange, whether it is with friends, people that one has sometimes met for years without really knowing them or complete strangers. The project is thus situated somewhere between the playground, the art installation and the performance, returning to the original etymology of the term concert, a 'group of musical instruments playing together' which are here activated by the whole body and bodies of the participants.