Liquid Views Virtual mirror of Narcissus Research area Intelligent Multimedia Systems Narcissus drowned in himself. The reflection on a water surface flooded by waves is dwindling. The access to the self remains closed. Central theme is the transition from the upper to the lower world, the transition from the rational world to the spheres of unconsciousness and vice versa. From the unconsciousness the ego juts out as the consciousness. But man only finds to his self, when he brings unconsciousness and consciousness into accord. At this point the process of individuation and cognition begins. The fountain - sole element of the setting - is a metaphor for a digital universe, which is opened by the observer's eye. The Narcissus of the media age is watching the world through a liquid mirror that questions our normal perception. A glass mirror has no inner life retaining our image. The digital image, however, can be stored, manipulated, and altered within the computer. In "Liquid Views" the mirror becomes the actor. The transformed, hallucinatory image originates on the other side of the mirror, which normally is not accessible to us. Morpheus the "shaper" - a son of the god of sleep - appears in men's dreams in changing characters. He gave the technique of morphing its name.The images' shape is altered by the computer in real time (Realtime Morphing). Liquid View Water surface, gentle waves, water sounds causes us to believe in an artificial nature. "Liquid Views" replicates the rippling water effect of gentle waves found in a well. The visitor approaches and sees his image reflected in the water - embedded in a fluid sphere of digital imagery. He tries to intervene, to touch the water surface and generates new ripples. Increasing the water movement too much, overstepping his limits, the viewer distorts his telematic reflection. The more he intervenes, the more his liquid view dissolves. After a time, while not touched, the water movement becomes calm again and returns to a liquid mirror. Interaction by touching The realistic impression of the simulated water seduces the viewer to stroke the horizontal projection screen. By touching the water surface (sensitive glass) he changes his image by haptic control, like image change in floating water. The innovative interface allows an intuition-based interaction with the computer. Narcissus is the myth of the profound moment when man looks at himself and questions himself. The virtual image supports our capacity for observing our world both in the (perceptive) reality and in (reflective) virtuality. Touch becomes vision. Technical realization The water forms and sounds are generated by special algorithms, the installation is complemented by an invisible video camera installed under the screen. The final image is created by texture-mapping the video pictures of the viewer in real time. The melting of his reflection is triggered by touching the sensitive screen. Different methods of digital image synthesis are used for interaction and image processing supported by special hardware algorithms. Embedding video into virtual environments in realtime shows the wide possibilities of digital interactive television.