Under the sky of this blue planet, we borrow the air from the Earth and release them again, repurpose and rearrange the element of it. We are breathing the same atoms that Leonardo da Vinci inhaled and exhaled [Stager, Wired, 2014]. When feeling being apart and being isolated, taking a breath might be a way to connects us with others, the nature and also our own self.
aSpire represents one's presence by a tangible form of one's breathing pattern. We present the concept of 'Presence of Absence' in a form of a kinetic and interactive installation. The aSpire which is a clippable pneumatic-tactile feedback device that helps users to regulate their breathing, is hang on a chair. It has three inflatable silicone air pouches in array that mimics the motion of human's breathing and delivers the tactile feeling from it. When an audience takes a seat on the chair, the aSpire delivers different breathing patterns by varying its air pouch shapes to represent the other audience's existence who were sitting on the same chair.