A collaborative work by
Samuel Walker
Alex Hercule
Andrew Alain
Photo courtesy of Sebastien Roy.
Prism and a Pile 1 (2017) is the first iteration of an interactive virtual reality installation. The structure comprises of a plexiglass rectangular prism resting on top of a three and a half ton pile of river rocks. A virtual reality headset hangs from above, playing a procedurally randomized series of narratives rendered in a real time 3-D game engine. A 4-channel audio component surrounds the structure, producing an auditory spatial disparity with the in-headset audio.
The work investigates the intersection between computer simulation and reality. A 3-D representation of the installation is modeled and localized in a virtual reality environment, establishing a physical and symbolic intermediary between the two co-existing modalities. The resulting cognitive dissonance forces the viewer to re-negotiate the relationship between body — both material & immaterial — and its surrounding environment.
The central object in the work is the rectangular prism — the default geometric primitive in standard 3-D modeling software and the catalyst for hyperdimensional objects and happenings. The prism spawns a series of narratives in the virtual reality headset, in which we explore notions of impossible worlds, transitory spaces, virtual identities, and the temporality and fluidity of the body.
Photo courtesy of Sebastien Roy.
