Commissioned by MAK Museum of Applied Arts and Contemporary Art in Vienna, Contours is an installation that combines screen printing with capacitive sensing, interactive tapestries and generative soundscapes as large-scale metaphors for the idea of breathing life into a textile skin. Included as part of MAK’s larger Scientific Skin exhibition, Contours - a collaborative effort between London-based conductive material developers Bare Conductive, artist Fabio Antinori and designer Alicja Pytlewska - reacts to the presence of people in its vicinity, using capacitive sensors applied to the objects’ substrates in conductive paint. The result is a fabric that can essentially track movement.

Furthering the experience at the exhibition, a looping ambient soundscape - reminiscent of a medical research environment - alludes to the relationship between science and the body, reminding us of the presence and meaning of skin, whatever that skin is made of. The abstract geometric design that connects the tapestries’ sensors is inspired by Wiener Werkstätte designs from the MAK Collection.
This isn't the first time we've been drawn to Bare Conductive’s unique use of conductive fabrics; MusicInk is a device that responds musically to touch using conductive ink, engaging children while teaching them about music.