3RD

Hedwig Heinsman / Niki Smit / Simon van der Linden. Netherlands

Excellece Award

An interactive installation giving players a new perspective on reality 3RD is inspired by the increased use of social media in pyblic space, and the changing way we perceive the world around us. People are invited to put on wearable bird-like sculptures. Through a video screen inside these "helmets" people see themselves from a distance. They become their own digital alter ego. This creates a surreal sensation where reality starts to feel like a digital game environment. Furthermore, the anonymity of using helmets makes people search for physical contact, thereby linking the physical and virtual domain. Within 3RD a new social interaction starts to form.

KINTSUGI

Apotropia Antonella Mignone / Cristiano Panepuccia, Italy

Excellece Award

Kintsugi is a video-dance work based on an autobiographical story. In 2003, MIGNONE and PANEPUCCIA had a road accident, the serious consequences of wich drastically changed their lives. In order to create this dance-for.camera piece, MIGNONE used the crutches that had accompanied her for years. Kintsugi, the Japanese technique of mending broken ceramics with goldfilled resin, is used as a poetic metaphor for physical and emotional healing processes. This technique has its roots in the belief that the object is more valueble and beautiful with its history revealed. A girl faces her journey of healing through the search for a new balance. Her tears turn into golden resin that repairs her scars. The absorption and transformation of trauma leads to development of new possibilities. They decided to shoot the initial scenes near the head of the Mignone River and the final ones in a sunflower field near its mouth.

HANDIII

Kondo Genta / Yamaura Hiroshi / Konishi Tetsuya. Japan

Excellece Award

handiii is a myoelectric prosthetic hand designed to offer flexibility and choice. Myoelectric bionic arms are prosthetics that people who have lost limbs can control intuitively through faint electrical signals [myoelectric] in the muscles, which are measured on the skin remaining on the arm. The technology has been around since prewar days but its extremely high cost has limited its penetration of the market, handiii uses a 3D printer and smartphone in order to keep the cost of the materials under 30,000 yen. Whereas previous bionic limbs would attempt to conceal the loss of the hand by imitating human skin in the design, handiii offers a choice of look to match the environment in which it is being used or the feelings of the user, just like a watch or sneakers. By adding extendibility through IC chips and microphones in the fingertips, handiii is a bionic arm that aspires to be the envy of a large number of people. It is crurently being developed for commercialization in partnership with users.

INGRESS

Google´s Niantic labs [John Hanke, Founder]. USA

Grand Prize

Ingress is a mobile application which transforms the real world into a massive multiplayer mobile game based on real-world locations, including cultural landmarks such as public works of art, historical sites, and unique works of architecture. Ingress uses GPS and a global mappind database to merge a fictional world with the real world. Players explore the world around them using their mobile phomes seeking "Portals", mysterious rifts in the universe which are believed to be leaking a mysterious form of energy known as "Exotic Matter" into our world. This energy, which has been found throughour history at sites of human civilization, is believed to make humans mor intelligent and creative. It may also be the carrier of messages from some other intelligence outside of the known universe. Players in the game are divided into two groupsm the "Resistance", who oppose the mysterious "Shapers" responsible for the Portals and Exotic Matter, and the "Enlightened", who accept the Sappers. Players must woek together with their alies in order to increase their group´s territory. The Ingress experience is designed to motivate players to leave their homes, explore and interact with other players in the world. It is also designed to lead players to places of unexpected beauty or cultural significance no matter where they are in the world.

JAPANESE SCHOOL GIRL CHASE

Japanese School Girl Chase project team. Japan

Jury Selections

In this video work two perfectly ordinary female high school students race around all the corners of their town like ninja. These girls have breathtaking physical abilities and while chasing each other they perform lots of impressive action stunts. Produce as a Wen commercial, the footage is made to look like it was shot by the girls with a phone camera. It created a lor of buzz, achieving 6 million views in on month after it was published online.

NORAMOJI PROJECT

Shimohama Rintaro / Nishimura Naoki / Wakaoka Shinya. Japan

Excellence Award

The old fonts used on the signs of local stores may not be as sophisticated as a precisely designed commercial font, bur these "stray lethers" [Noramoji] still have their own unique charms. This project´s starting point was the desire to rediscover and archive the charms of these signs, from their antique-like craftsmanship and the aging of materials. The "stray letters" discovered through the project are analyzed and then converted into usable computer fonts. By then distributing the font data online, more people can learn about the fonts on the old signs. The profits generated by the sales are given back to the owners of the owners of the original signs, helping to support their maintenance for future generations, passing on the scenery of regional towns and cities, and creating what we might call a typographic folk art movement.