Octo_pi

Small sea-creature sculptures populate a room. They sense human presence, and when a person approaches they freeze, appearing inert, decorative, harmless. When the room empties, they begin to move again, animating their bodies as if returning to a private inner life that is not for show.

The piece flips the usual subject/observer relation. In nature documentaries, the animal is the watched. Here the human is the trigger that makes the animal disappear. The work asks: maybe the creatures are most themselves when no one is looking.

Built with Arduino, distance sensor, DC motor, and servo motor.