FORMICA is a pneumatic air-driven interactive system whose strong metallic frame houses a delicate video membrane consisting of a series of horizontal elastic rubberized lattes. A projected virtual character seeks to create a connection with participants as they enter the system's environment. The visitors transform and trigger new links or bonds with the virtual character as infrared sensors pick up their movements and polaroid sensors their location. These interactions are visually expressed on the membrane like firing neurons weaving a tapestry of associations. Depending on the intensity of the encounters, the structure itself suddenly expands and contracts with forceful affection or revulsion. Formica seems to notice, feel and learn as it adjusts to the shifting strata of societal interactions. Both the system's character and each visitor are aroused from rest triggering reflexes ranging from surprise and novelty to conflict and uncertainty to peaceful curiosity.