Hidden Translation:
Mis/Understanding introduces the central concerns of my research: the emotional and cognitive labor of navigating language barriers, the instability of cross-cultural communication, and the traces these struggles leave on identity and belonging. In this interactive installation, Persian text is projected onto a wall, and a motion-tracking system reveals the English translation only within the viewer’s body silhouette. Meaning appears and disappears as participants move through the space, making understanding something that must be negotiated through gesture, presence, and embodied attention.
Reflecting my experience as a non-native English speaker, the work visualizes the hesitations, delays, and efforts often hidden within bilingual communication. Using motion tracking, p5.js, and projection design, Mis/Understanding reframes miscommunication as a shared, sensory experience that transforms an internal struggle into a collective moment of encounter.