Jin-Yo Mok and Ahmi Wolf‘s Light Bead Curtain is a musical installation that can be played by touch.

Each bead, when touched, lights itself and emits a unique sound. People play with the curtain by weaving their hands through it, touching it with their faces, and moving through it with their body.

The curtain’s play mechanism is so simple and direct that anyone can easily understand how to play. Touch sensors are embedded within each bead, connected to microcontrollers which communicate on a central sensor network with a computer. The beads are also controllable via the computer.

The artists have recently received a year long Artist in Residency commision from Harvestworks to create the next version of Light Bead Curtain. The curtain is part of the Music Box Project.

Related: Interactive music box.