What if social media was art? At Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in October, the designers at Forge Collective revealed their answer to this provocative question with interactive art installation Connexion Point. In the video below, you can see how complete strangers were able to make connections and create a dynamic digital community – exploring stories through Leap Motion interaction.

Once the sun went down, Connexion Point’s visitors used a mobile web app to share meaningful stories about themselves and choose a unique color. This generated a glowing avatar, which would ascend into a colorful world of geometric shapes, joining the avatars of others who visited the installation.

Standing before podiums embedded with Leap Motion Controllers and facing Connexion Point’s projected display, visitors then captured the free-floating avatars using circular gestures. As the world slowly populated over the course of Nuit Blanche, visitors were able to collect avatars and take them home – creating random collections of stories from strangers.

In this way, the creators of Connexion Point were able to bring people together with personal stories, rather than the torrent of noise that plagues conventional social media. Along with the event video, Forge Collective also documented the creative process behind Connexion Point, revealing a sneak peek into their process and highlighting the installation’s functionality. According to the creators:

As the Leap Motion technology is relatively unknown in the realm of public art, using the controller allowed us to create a bit of magic. It elevated the experience beyond that of a touchscreen, and by incorporating it into a podium, we were able to further that magical experience.

The ease of integration with our code also made these devices the perfect fit for our project. Also, most large-scale installations are touch-based – where participants have to stand too close to the screen, losing the impact of the piece as a whole.

With recent installations ranging from forests to graffiti, artists around the world are exploring the possibilities for touchless interaction. By breaking down the barriers between people and their devices, the Leap Motion Controller allows people to forge creative, emotional connections through technology – reaching into virtual worlds with no obstacles or distractions.

What sorts of virtual worlds would you like to explore with Leap Motion control? Let us hear your thoughts @LeapMotion and on our Facebook page.