Hidden Within

Hidden Within, created by artist Janet Biggs, mathematicians Agnieszka Miedlar and Paul Cazeaux, physicist Daniel Tapia Takaki, and audio engineer Tanner Upthegrove, is a multimedia immersive installation that explores how information can be hidden, detected, and extracted. Inspired by NextG Wireless Security, this research-based project led to the production of a video and spatial sound installation exploring aspects of data transmission and communication by experimenting with ways sensitive data can be encrypted and sent via light sources.

The installation unfolds in three interconnected segments: the first focuses on Davian Robinson, a vision-impaired dancer who uses echolocation to understand and navigate unknown spaces. The second takes the viewer deep into the Amazon headwaters of Peru, with the final segment featuring Virginia Tech’s elite Gregor Guard silent drill team. Centered in the installation, tables of shallow water act as vibration encoders for the installation audio and reflect light and patterns as they reveal another layer of information.

Each segment presents imagery that can be interpreted in multiple ways. Viewers will bring their own experiences and histories, building narratives and meanings that may be hidden to others.

About the collaboration:
As an interdisciplinary group originally brought together by the Arts Research Integration (ARI) program at the University of Kansas’ Spencer Museum of Art, the collaborators work collectively to produce work that is generative of each other and has relevance in each of their disciplines. Through experimentation and innovation, they create new knowledge, including tools and perspectives to advance their respective fields and elicit the audience’s engagement and curiosity.

Janet Biggs is research-based interdisciplinary artist known for immersive work in video and performance. Her work has been exhibited and collected in museums and institutions worldwide. She is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, has received support from NYSCA and the NEA, is a member of the New Museum’s incubator, NEW INC, and The Explorers Club.

Virginia Tech Associate Professor, Agnieszka Miedlar’s research lies in the general area of numerical linear algebra, numerical analysis for partial differential equations (PDEs) and scientific computing. She conducts research in a range from theoretical investigations for problems motivated by applications to developing computational methods of practical relevance.

Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Paul Cazeaux’s research in applied mathematics covers a range of subjects in mathematical modeling, rigorous analysis of partial differential equations and numerical simulations of multiscale phenomena arising from applications in materials science and biology.

University of Kansas Professor Daniel Tapia Takaki studies gluon dynamics in the proton and lead nuclei to understand fundamental properties and emergent phenomena of hadronic matter at high energies. He has worked in a wide variety of experimental particle and nuclear physics projects at CERN, including ALICE collaboration (2002-2014, and 2020-present) and for the CMS collaboration (2014-2020).

Tanner Upthegrove, MFA in Spatial Audio and Technical Direction, thrives at the intersection of arts and technology as Immersive Audio Engineer for Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. Tanner designs audiovisual systems with a focus on immersive experiences. Tanner composes spatial audio for multichannel audio systems.