Chapter 26. Handjabber

We describe an immersive art installation, Handjabber, which is inspired by research in gesture and nonverbal communication. It explores how people use their bodies to communicate and collaborate, specifically via metaphoric gesture, interpersonal space, and orientation. In the piece, participants’ individual and collective actions give rise to immediate changes in their perceptual environment. These changes are designed to highlight communicative aspects of experience that often go unnoticed in everyday life, allowing both participants and observers to gain a deeper understanding of how they naturally use their bodies to communicate. We describe artistic motivations, theoretical inspirations and technical details. We also discuss how people have experienced the piece.