By Jihye Ahn

Project Description
Pipe Synth, is a flute-like interactive musical instrument, using a microcontroller board, sensors and MIDI data. My mom’s flute, an essence of my memory from my childhood, was the inspiration behind this installation. Although she was enthusiastic about having me play flute, I did not continue to pursue it because I thought it was pointless. While I wasn’t motivated to learn or practice it, flute, evidently, is something that I will always have an attachment to. To me, building this installation is a healing process to transform regret into motivation — a process that I considered meaningless, now meaningful. Pipe Synth allows people to play multiple MIDI instruments. It challenges the notion that playing an instrument is difficult. With my installation, I aim to provide people with a playful and simple environment. Doing it, it will be an easy-to-use interactive system. I would like players to explore human technology interaction through a system that does not need a formal method.

Bio
Jihye Ahn was born and raised in Korea. After having completed her bachelors and masters degrees in Fine Arts, she went to India to explore its culture that is different from her own in Korea. The diversity of India brought her new perspectives and exposure to the different culture was her main motivation to change her path and move to New York City. She is currently a media student at Hunter College, concentrating in Emerging Media.
Personal Website: ahnjihye.com