Created by the Belgian artist Dries Depoorter in collaboration with Berlin scenographer Manu Siebens, Recharge XL is an installation featuring chairs where the visitors can relax while charging their phones. However, their phones will only charge when their eyes are closed, encouraging them to take a moment of mindfulness and rest while their devices power up.
It’s an experience where human well-being meets digital necessity—a gentle reminder to pause and take care of yourself in a tech-driven world.
Dries Depoorter
The project exists in two versions: a small-scale model and the full Recharge XL version with 40 seats. The small version was made possible by Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, while the larger iteration, complete with 40 custom-built seats, was produced with the support of NT Gent and Winter Circus Ghent.
The hardware set-up is comprised of a Ubuntu system in 19inch server rack, Nvidia GeForce 4080 GPU, two 30-channel relay modules (Waveshare), eight 4K PTZ network cameras, gigabit network powered by a Netgear switch and custom-built seating for 40 participants. Software is Python 3 using Torch, Torchvision, Transformers, and Tkinter libraries. The installation’s open/closed eye detection system is trained on multiple datasets using FocalNet, a neural network model specifically suited for visual tasks that outperforms self-attention based models on the tasks of image classification, object detection, and segmentation. This allows the installation to accurately detect when a visitor’s eyes are closed, triggering the phone charging feature.
This installation will be on display from the 13th to the 22nd of April at the Wintercircus Arena in Ghent, Belgium. Previously exhibited at Berlin Berlin.
Project Page | Dries Depoorter
See also: 0, 1: Blink, and the Lights Go Out / Light installation by Michal Kohút (2012)
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