This practice-based research investigates how projection mapping develops a distinctive relationship between screen, moving image, and space in projected moving-image art. Despite projection mapping’s growing popularity, little in-depth research has been conducted on this medium. This lack of research and the superficial nature of many projects have led artists and researchers to regard the medium as a mere technique that serves only to decorate three-dimensional surfaces.
Rather than view projection mapping simply as a digital technique, my research situates it in the continuum of projected moving-image installation artwork. To do this, I examine projection mapping’s screen, narrative, and surrounding space—the constituents of all projected moving-image installation art—through the lenses of surface and depth. In addition to considering cinematic frames, I analyse these traits through artistic lenses such as painting, site-specific art, and architecture to investigate how projection mapping reconfigures the constituents that comprise all screen-based projected moving-image works. In so doing, I define the ways which projection mapping develops its distinctive relationship among these constituents.
I conducted three projects in a cyclical developmental process using a reflective methodology derived from case study research: defining the question, recording the process, analysing, and reflecting. My practices as case studies are integral parts of this thesis investigation of how projection mapping generates a distinctive relationship.
This study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge about an under-researched area, projection mapping, by providing an in-depth conceptual and practical analysis of this medium. The knowledge resulting from the research is embodied in findings from contextual reviews and original artworks produced as case studies.