〈Vessel〉 도시의 박동과 자기 맥박을 공명시키는 법 — 회전·시간축·맥박 센서 사용 가이드
황인태의 〈Vessel〉(2026)은 서울시 1년치 이동 데이터를 기하학적 형태로 변환한 인터랙티브 데이터 조각이다. 관객은 조형물을 회전시켜 자치구별 흐름을 조망하거나, 시간축을 이동하며 도시의 단면을 추적한다. 그리고 맥박 센서에 손을 대는 순간, 도시의 박동이 관객의 고유한 리듬과 공명한다. 이 가이드는 회전·시간축·맥박 센서 세 가지 입력을 어떤 순서로 사용하면 작품이 가장 또렷하게 보이는지를 정리한다.
조형물 회전 — 자치구의 흐름을 한 면으로 보는 일
작품은 듀얼 채널 프로젝션과 결합된 데이터 조형물이다. 각 자치구의 인구와 이동 속도가 조형물의 기하학적 규격에 엄밀하게 반영되어, 시각적 면적이 데이터의 수치와 일치한다. 조형물을 회전시키면 자치구의 면이 차례로 전면에 드러난다.
첫 사이클에서는 한 자치구를 정면에 두고 그 자치구의 ‘덩치’와 ‘속도’를 한 번 본다. 강남구·영등포구·종로구처럼 1일 유동이 큰 자치구는 면적이 두드러지게 크고, 이동 속도가 빠른 구는 모서리가 더 날카롭다. 회전은 천천히 — 한 자치구당 약 4–5초 — 가 권장된다.
시간축 이동 — 같은 도시의 다른 시각
작품은 1년치의 데이터를 머금고 있다. 시간축을 이동하면 같은 자치구의 면이 시시각각 달라지는 것이 보인다. 예를 들어 평일 출근 시간대의 종로구와 주말 오후의 종로구는 같은 자리에서 다른 면적을 가진다. ‘같은 도시의 다른 시각’이라는 것이 직접 시각으로 들어오는 구간이 시간축 이동에서 만들어진다.
권장 흐름은 ‘평일 09:00 → 평일 19:00 → 주말 14:00’의 세 시각을 비교하는 것이다. 시간축 한 점당 약 5–7초를 두면 변화의 방향이 또렷이 보인다.
맥박 센서 — 작품이 비로소 살아 움직이는 순간
회전과 시간축이 ‘도시의 형태’를 보여 준다면, 맥박 센서는 ‘도시의 박동’을 본인의 박동과 합치는 입력이다. 손가락을 센서에 약 10–15초 동안 안정적으로 대고 있으면, 화면 안의 도시 박동이 본인의 심박 리듬과 동기되며 비로소 작품이 ‘살아 있는 존재’로 완성된다. 호흡을 한 번 가다듬은 뒤 손을 두는 것이 권장된다.
맥박이 잘 잡히지 않을 때는 손가락의 위치를 바꾸지 말고 손에 힘을 빼는 것이 좋다. 센서는 압력이 아니라 미세한 광학 변화로 맥박을 읽는다.
두 사람이 함께 할 때 — 두 박동을 한 자리에
작품은 1인 입력을 전제로 작동하지만, 두 사람이 차례로 손을 대 한 자리에서 두 박동을 비교해 보는 것이 권장 사용 방식 중 하나다. 두 사람의 박동이 같은 도시 위에서 어떻게 다른 리듬을 만드는지가 직접 보인다.
동선상으로는 〈Goldilocks〉 직후에 〈Vessel〉을 보는 것이 좋다 — 두 작품 모두 황인태의 ‘서울의 실시간/축적 데이터를 관객의 신체와 공명시키는’ 계열이다.
Letting the city beat with you — a visitor's guide to Intae Hwang's Vessel at Living Geometry 2026
Vessel (2026) by Intae Hwang is an interactive data sculpture that translates a year of Seoul's mobility data into geometric form. Visitors rotate the sculpture to survey each district, travel along the time axis to read the city's cross-section through the day, and place a finger on the pulse sensor — at which point the city's beat resonates with their own rhythm and the work is completed as a living thing. This guide explains the order in which to use the three inputs so the work reads most clearly.
Rotating the sculpture — reading districts as a face
The piece is a data sculpture paired with dual-channel projection. Each district's population and movement velocity are mapped, with rigorous fidelity, onto the sculpture's geometric dimensions — visible area corresponds to the data's numbers. Rotating the sculpture brings district faces to the front in turn.
Use the first cycle to hold one district at the front and read its mass and speed. Districts with heavy daily flow — Gangnam-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Jongno-gu — show as larger faces; districts with faster movement carry sharper edges. Rotate slowly — around four to five seconds per district.
Travelling the time axis — the same city at a different hour
The work carries a year of data. Travelling the time axis lets the same district's face change moment by moment. Jongno-gu on a weekday morning and Jongno-gu on a weekend afternoon hold different areas in the same place; that 'same city, different hour' becomes literally visible at the time axis.
A useful sequence is weekday 09:00 → weekday 19:00 → weekend 14:00. Hold each point on the axis for five to seven seconds and the direction of change becomes legible.
The pulse sensor — when the work becomes alive
Rotation and the time axis show 'the form of the city'. The pulse sensor brings the city's beat into your own. Rest a finger on the sensor steadily for 10–15 seconds; the on-screen city pulse synchronises with your heart rhythm, and the work resolves as a living thing. Steady your breathing once before placing your hand.
If the sensor cannot find the pulse, do not move your finger — relax it. The sensor reads small optical changes, not pressure.
As a pair — two heartbeats on one city
The work runs on a single input, but a useful way to use it is for two people to take the sensor in turn at the same spot and compare. The two rhythms make different patterns on the same city, and the difference is visible.
On the floor route, follow Goldilocks with Vessel — both belong to Intae Hwang's line of work that brings Seoul's data into resonance with the visitor's body.
Letting the city beat with you — a visitor's guide to Intae Hwang's Vessel at Living Geometry 2026
Vessel (2026) by Intae Hwang is an interactive data sculpture that translates a year of Seoul's mobility data into geometric form. Visitors rotate the sculpture to survey each district, travel along the time axis to read the city's cross-section through the day, and place a finger on the pulse sensor — at which point the city's beat resonates with their own rhythm and the work is completed as a living thing. This guide explains the order in which to use the three inputs so the work reads most clearly.
Rotating the sculpture — reading districts as a face
The piece is a data sculpture paired with dual-channel projection. Each district's population and movement velocity are mapped, with rigorous fidelity, onto the sculpture's geometric dimensions — visible area corresponds to the data's numbers. Rotating the sculpture brings district faces to the front in turn.
Use the first cycle to hold one district at the front and read its mass and speed. Districts with heavy daily flow — Gangnam-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Jongno-gu — show as larger faces; districts with faster movement carry sharper edges. Rotate slowly — around four to five seconds per district.
Travelling the time axis — the same city at a different hour
The work carries a year of data. Travelling the time axis lets the same district's face change moment by moment. Jongno-gu on a weekday morning and Jongno-gu on a weekend afternoon hold different areas in the same place; that 'same city, different hour' becomes literally visible at the time axis.
A useful sequence is weekday 09:00 → weekday 19:00 → weekend 14:00. Hold each point on the axis for five to seven seconds and the direction of change becomes legible.
The pulse sensor — when the work becomes alive
Rotation and the time axis show 'the form of the city'. The pulse sensor brings the city's beat into your own. Rest a finger on the sensor steadily for 10–15 seconds; the on-screen city pulse synchronises with your heart rhythm, and the work resolves as a living thing. Steady your breathing once before placing your hand.
If the sensor cannot find the pulse, do not move your finger — relax it. The sensor reads small optical changes, not pressure.
As a pair — two heartbeats on one city
The work runs on a single input, but a useful way to use it is for two people to take the sensor in turn at the same spot and compare. The two rhythms make different patterns on the same city, and the difference is visible.
On the floor route, follow Goldilocks with Vessel — both belong to Intae Hwang's line of work that brings Seoul's data into resonance with the visitor's body.
Transit :: 3-min walk from Yeongdeungpo Station (Line 1, KTX)
Best times :: Weekday mornings or after 17:00
Time per work :: ~6–8 min (rotation + time axis + pulse sensor)
About the exhibition
Living Geometry 2026 is a media-art special exhibition curated and developed by the KAIST Experience Design Lab (XD Lab) within KAIST's Department of Industrial Design. It re-threads Yeongdeungpo's visible urban landscape, its invisible data, and the emotional strata behind them in a geometric language — recasting the city, beyond a stilled aggregate of concrete, as an organism in continual pulse. Seven works span single-channel video, interactive installation, and multi-device web art.
Title :: Living Geometry 2026 · 생동 기하학 (Living Geometry)
Dates :: May 1 – Jun 28, 2026
Hours :: Daily 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:45)
Venue :: YDP Artsquare · Times Square B2F, 15 Yeongjung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
