EyeDraw Soundscape

EyeDraw Soundscape

Work created in 2025/7/5

This work is an interactive installation that utilizes eye-tracking technology based on the WebGazer.js library, transforming the viewer’s gaze trajectory into real-time drawings while simultaneously generating a soundscape.
The core of the piece lies in replacing the traditional physical act of drawing with the act of “seeing,” thereby dismantling the boundaries between the visual and auditory senses and creating a new perceptual experience. The gaze is one of the most intuitive yet unconscious bodily movements. By visualizing and sonifying this unconscious motion, viewers are given the opportunity to objectively observe their own perceptual processes.
The sound design, made possible through the integration of Tone.js, maps the movement of the gaze to acoustic parameters, establishing a new correspondence between visual trajectories and auditory textures. This is not merely a technical effect, but can be interpreted as an attempt to artificially generate a synesthetic experience.
Implementation in a browser environment is a crucial aspect of the work’s democratization. By making the experience accessible through familiar environments—personal devices and webcams—without the need for specialized exhibition spaces or expensive equipment, the threshold for engaging with technology art is lowered. At the same time, the creative use of web standard technologies such as WebRTC and the Web Audio API expands the artistic potential of the browser as a platform.
From a more critical perspective, this work also connects to the issues of “surveillance” and “visualization” in contemporary society. Eye-tracking technology is commercially used as a surveillance tool for measuring advertising effectiveness and usability studies. By repurposing it in an artistic context, the work neutralizes the power dynamics of the technology and encourages viewers to shift from being the observed to becoming active creators.
Ultimately, the fundamental question posed by this work is the redefinition of corporeality in the digital age. By making the subtle and unconscious bodily movement of eye motion, rather than the physical movement of the hand, the starting point of creative activity, the traditional concept of “making” is expanded. Drawing with the gaze blurs the boundary between seeing and making, dismantling the dichotomy between passive viewing and active creation.
This piece is positioned as an experimental work that values conceptual sharpness over technical sophistication. While exploring the creative possibilities of web technologies, it simultaneously offers new perspectives on the fundamental themes of art—perception, corporeality, and the act of creation—making it a significant endeavor in contemporary internet art practice.