SmallConnection

A Subtle Medium for Connecting Two Distant Souls

SmallConnection is an everyday communication medium designed for two close individuals living far apart. Emerging in the early 2000s, at the dawn of widespread internet adoption, it employed RT (Robot Technology) sensor units to propose a new form of media capable of conveying delicate layers of information—moods, presence, and atmosphere—beyond mere words or images.

For example, air is a medium as subtle as the very air around us, using light to convey a partner’s presence across distance. The light reflects the rhythms of a partner’s life, while simultaneously evoking a sense of atmosphere and emotional presence. Each person possesses an air device, consisting of two pairs of lamps—one blue, one red—linked through a network. When one partner touches a lamp, their corresponding lamp in the other’s space lights up. With just a gentle touch, the lamps can be lit or extinguished, creating a shared experience of presence.

anemo is conceived as a “tunnel of wind” connecting two spaces. Activities in one room are transformed into a gentle breeze that flows into the other, spinning a small propeller. Installed in two distant locations, anemo detects sounds in each space and translates them into the motion of the propeller on the other side. It turns in response to conversations or music, spinning faster as the volume grows.

one takes the form of a halved sphere, from which two slender rods extend. By pushing or pulling these rods, tactile sensations are transmitted. When one person presses a rod inward, the corresponding rod in the other’s device moves upward; when pulled outward, the partner’s rod moves downward. Through this shared motion, physical touch is reimagined across distance.

comado allows communication only when both users open their “doors.” Once opened, the two share a wall as if they were living side by side in adjacent rooms, creating a moment of intimate connectedness.

Together, these works represent an artistic expoloration from the dawn of internet applications—granting digital data a physical dimension and seeking the very essence of communication media.