Mari Velonaki has worked as an artist and researcher in the field of interactive media since 1995. She has created interfaces that promotes intimate and immersive relationships between humans and machines. Mari’s interactive artworks — 29 catalogued exhibitions during 2002–09 — engage the spectator/participant with digital and robotic ‘characters.’ Many of these have been selected as case studies in academic monographs.

Her work has provided a basis for intellectually and emotionally engaging human-machine interfaces incorporating movement, speech, touch, breath, electrostatic charge, artificial vision, light, text and robotics. For example, in ‘Unstill Life’ (2000) for the first time the consumption of real apples is the interface between the audience and a projected character. In ‘Pin Cushion’ (2000), a female character is projected onto a latex cushion. Large acupuncture needles are embedded into the character’s face. When the viewer touches the needles, the projected woman responds and evolves in real time in response to the latent charge on the viewer’s own body. This work was acclaimed as the first to provide an individualised interface measuring each participant’s unique electrostatic charge.

In 2003 she initiated and led a major Australian Research Council art/science project ‘Fish–Bird: Autonomous Interactions in a Contemporary Arts Setting’ in collaboration with robotics researchers Drs Rye, Scheding & Williams at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, University of Sydney. The project created a new theoretical foundation for communication between humans and machines that incorporates notions of trust and shared intimacy. It led to the creation of ‘Fish-Bird,’ by far the most sophisticated robotic artwork in existence. In ‘Fish-Bird’ two robots in the form of wheelchairs impersonate ‘characters’ who fall in love but cannot be together due to ‘technical difficulties.’ Fish and Bird communicate with each other and their audience via movement and written text. ‘Fish-Bird’ is recognised nationally and internationally both as a groundbreaking artwork and as an exemplary model of fully-engaged interdisciplinary research.

In 2006, with Dr David Rye, Mari co-founded the Centre for Social Robotics within the Australian Centre for Field Robotics, University of Sydney.

In 2007 Mari was awarded the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship in recognition of her body of work. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious ARC Australian Research Fellowship (2009-2013) for the creation of a new interactive robotic form, together with associated interdisciplinary research at the Centre for Social Robotics, ACFR.