LIFE INKlusive

This collaborative art project brings together artists with and without disabilities to explore the question: Can mind and body produce “ink”? Using innovative Futurelab technology, it highlights both the uniqueness of individual expression and the power of creativity, working together across perceived boundaries.

LIFE INKlusive is a collaboration by Ars Electronica Center and Ars Electronica Futurelab with artists with disabilities from Caritas Upper Austria, Lebenshilfe Linz, KuK – promente Upper Austria, the Hartheim Institute, as well as students from the University of Arts Linz. All of the artists were recorded during the act of creation using Life Ink technology, co-developed by the Futurelab and Wacom as part of an ongoing partnership.

Life Ink captures brainwaves and body signals in real time and translates them into an immersive three-dimensional ink. Stills of the unique personal ink of all artists were showcased next to their artworks in an exhibition kicking off the inclusive cultural festival sicht:wechsel in May 2025 at splace in Linz, Austria. The works will also be shown at the Ars Electronica Festival 2025 in Linz.

The concept for LIFE INKlusive came about as the Ars Electronica Center was approached by the Kreativpool für Individuelle Kunst (Creative Pool for Individual Art), an inclusive art initiative in Upper Austria. Soon it blossomed to a hands-on collaborative project, opening up technology to the artists as well as their works to the world, as part of the inclusive cultural festival sicht:wechsel in Linz.

As an introduction, artists with disabilities from Caritas Upper Austria, Lebenshilfe Linz, KuK – promente Upper Austria, and the Hartheim Institute were invited to a guided tour through the Ars Electronica Center. Subsequently, a team of Center and Futurelab members visited selected artists from these institutions as well as the University of Arts Linz to record their individual Life Ink streams while painting, drawing, and playing the piano.

The results, including stills of the artists’ Life Ink, were displayed in an exhibition at splace – part of the University of Arts in Linz, Austria – from May 12 to May 18, 2025, as a prelude to the inclusive cultural festival sicht:wechsel. Apart from immersing themselves in the artworks, visitors had the opportunity to try out Life Ink themselves on several occasions. An exhibition of the project and technology is also presented to the public in the Ars Electronica Center.

Life Ink captures a variety of biometric signals such as brain waves, eye movements, muscle movements, and the activity of sweat glands. These signals are then visualized as a constant elliptic stream of colorful, ever-changing virtual ink; capturing the unseen aspects of the creative process. Futurelab and Wacom have been working on the technology as part of the broader Future Ink Project since 2022, continuously upgrading the technology for increased reusable wearability and more user-friendly software.

Credits

Ars Electronica Futurelab: Alexandre Bizri
Ars Electronica Center: Sonja Bailer, Nicole Grüneis, Thomas Schwarz
PARTNERS: Caritas, pro mente, Lebenshilfe, Diakonie, Institut Hartheim