WEAR ME!!! provided the chance to explore the issues and products in play. What kind of digital interaction will future clothing give us? How can fashion, textiles and hardware industries integrate their knowledge? What are the ‘near future’ evolutions that will give us easy to wear, fashionable and portable interfaces?

The WEAR ME!!! Network Exchange programme involved a Marketplace hosted by The Forum, Norwich on Saturday 7th December for the public to view new smart clothing and digital accessories, and test prototypes and experiments by artists and industry.

The marketplace was hosted at The Forum in Norwich on Saturday 7th December and exhibited new smart clothing and digital accessories, plus test prototypes and see experiments by artists and industry.

It showcased the latest HARDWARE and SOFTWEAR prototypes, product and equipment demos by international artists and innovative electronics & textile companies. Industry representation includes Digimask (UK), Xybernaut (US/Germany), Groovy Gecko (UK), Ridgewell Press (UK), Mr. Blinkey (UK), Vexed Generation (UK) Karrysafe (UK), Motorola (USA/UK), Softswitch (UK) and Logitech (UK). Textiles artist representation includes Lisa Miillward (UK), Rachael Wingfield (UK) and Fo.Am (Belgium).

Click Here to view the WEAR ME!!! InterChange Timeline Norwich 5-8th DEC 2002 >>

WEAR ME!!! brought the txOom PlaySpace by international art/science collective FoAm to the Circus Space Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth from 1st - 8th December 2002.

Click here for detailed txOom Great Yarmouth Event Info!! >>

Inside txOom, participants (from aged 5 years upwards) took a journey into the media worlds of 'textiles in bloom' through wearing garments using body sensing technologies and active fabrics.

tx0om (Textures in Bloom) was a responsive PlaySpace, where wearable architecture and evolving media worlds blend, engendering a rich and multilayered experience. Players were sensed by the PlaySpace using motion sensors and vision tracking systems incorporated into the space. Gradually the social interaction between the participants, and the responsive sound and visuals projected throughout the PlaySpace, change and evolve as they begin to play together.

tx0om environments are designed as public experiments, for testing and research in the field of biomimetics, visualisation and sonification of human behaviour and human-computer interaction in mixed realities. An important part of the site-specific environment was developed through interaction with local community groups, as well as national and international artists and technologists.

Click here for more information about txOom >>

In and around WEAR ME!!!Network Exchange, Future Physical exhibited commissioned works as presentations, performances, exhibitions, process demos and installations including the first showing of Canadian artist, Nicholas Stedman's The Blanket Project.

The Blanket Project by Canadian artist Nicholas Stedman, a remote connected reactive object. more>>

Flip Flop performance piece by Ambienttv.net looking at the multiplicity of identity in a networked world. The project uses wearable computing units from Xybernaut as part of a scientific research contract with Future Physical. (To be premiered at Colchester Arts Centre in Spring 2003). more>>

Rachel Wingfield, who appeared on Tomorrow’s World, this summer, will be giving a demo presentation of her commission Digital Dawn - an Interactive blind (to be premiered at the ECO-TECH Exchange in Colchester in February). more>>

Whispers - international artist/technologist Thecla Schiphorst's new co-creation with Suzan Kozel, a participatory installation involving a 5-woman team of engineers, software designers and visual specialists. Custom-created wearables are given network interfaces, which talk to each other through pulse and other physical data (to be presented at the RESPOND Network Exchange in Cambridge, April 2003). more>>

The Remote Controller by People Like Us - demonstration of a research project using documentary/educational/industrial film footage exploring the subject of 20th century experimentation in human body and machine interfaces. more>>

genomixer by Stanza - geno… genomix…genome baby maker is an interactive online installation created by one of the UK’s leading web artists. It allows members of the public to cross-reference all the patterns on the genome sequence and intermix or breed your their own variables, allowing the user to look at the new mix of chromosomes in real time; online. more>>

Love Story by Simon Byford. This targeted commission takes the form of an unfolding love story on the Future Physical web site. Love on the Internet, echoing through servers and cables, packets of information containing hopes and fears. Love and the idea of love as a name, an electronic address, perceived identity, the flesh of emotion. more>>

kondition pluriel - schème II by Martin Kusch and Marie-Claude Poulin. This research commission from the group kondition pluriel is directed by two Canada-based artists who are working with dance and new technology. Their project schËme II is a physical platform for experimental, performative research. This choreographic installation takes the form of a performance arena equipped with a variety of technological tools specifically developed for the project. more>>

ONWARDS: WEAR ME!!! moves to Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham in April 2003 for an exhibition and to London in Sept/October 2003 as a fashion show. Register interest to receive events publicity. register>>

The Future Physical website provides an entry point to the programme online debate forums and details of the programme.

ACTIVATE: Register through the web site to join the Future Physical Community, and you will be kept informed of forthcoming Future Physical events.

ENGAGE: Join the online debate forum to engage in debates and air your views on body and technology.

EXCHANGE: Sign up for the InterChange gatherings for specialist exchange/debate within the series of Network Exchange Events.

note: InterChange places are limited, please register early:

WEAR ME!!! - Open from 28th September 2002

BIO-TECH / ECO-TECH - Open from 15th November 2002
BIOTECH Application Deadline 10th January 2002
ECOTECH Application Deadline 20th January 2002

RESPOND - Open from 10th February 2003

Virtual Participation.

If you cannot attend these exchange events physically, sign up for the online discussion groups and web casts and join in with and follow debate.

Check this website to keep up to date with events and activities.

Keynote speech on future visions of digital body interfaces by renowned international artist/technologist, Thecla Schiphorst (Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver). <<more>>

For registered participants, the WEAR ME!!! InterChange offered 3 intensive days of working groups, process demos and networking around evolutions in smart textiles and fashion, hardware portability and miniaturisation, wireless networking and interactive software interfaces, presentations, film showings and multiple networking opportunities plus public events programme.