The Sung Portrait is an interactive digital painting where lots of tiny creatures live. The painting literally comes to life when it is woken up through musical sound such as singing. Depending on the volume and pitch of the voice, the image evolves at higher or lower speed. The louder the people sing or the greater the excitement expressed, the more the Sung Portrait reacts.
As soon as the singing stops so does the painting. It will only change if someone starts to sing again.
The paint strokes move unpredictably giving the painting the illusion of being alive. The person singing to the painting receives a portrait in return.

The behavior of the paint strokes is based on a dynamic artificial intelligence system. Each stroke is “aware” of its environment and the neighboring paint strokes. The brush strokes are interdependent in a way that the behavior of one, changes the global behavior of the entire painting system.

„The Sung Portrait is a digital painting where lots of tiny creatures live. This little strokes of paint sleep most of the time and the only thing that can wake them and make them move is music which gives a purpose to their life. (…) The louder people sing the quicker they are, becoming wild and aquiver in excitement. (…) So all you have to do is sing for those little creatures and let them offer you your portrait in return.“

All images by Alexandre Gomez and Isadora Teles de Castro e Costa