Tribes is a study of human behaviour on a mass scale. Thousands of tiny people move in sync, forming connections, creating collective patterns on the landscape, and seemingly sharing common goals.

The film allows a duality of perspective. Pictured from above, the human figures in these ever-changing mass simulations are living artworks, barely distinguishable from one another. Together they create a fluid movement of colour, with the crowd’s behaviour revealing patterns that are only visible from a distance. Yet viewed close up, the individuals that make up the crowd are revealed, each following a unique trajectory in their shared environment.

Tribes continues Universal Everything’s longstanding lines of enquiry into choreography and rules of human behaviour. Informed by the complexities of crowd dynamics, the project explores autonomy, self-organisation and group interrelationships. It questions the impact a crowd can have on an individual within it, creating an impression of the universality of human behaviour.

Tribes is exhibited at Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul, Goyang and Beijing from 16 May 2019. The exhibition continues Universal Everything’s collaboration with Hyundai Motorstudio, following its video artworks for an 87-metre-long screen and a kinetic display experience for the Motorstudio Design Room.

Originally commissioned by the Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul.

Credits:

Creative Director: Matt Pyke, Mike Hughes
Animator: Chris Perry
Sound Designer: Simon Pyke (Freefarm)
Senior Producer: Greg Povey