Abstract
Wd8-Connected
Simone van Groenestijn
Wd8-Connected
Performance/Presentation/Installation
Wd8-Connected is an installation that connects different realities.
The core of the installation is a connection between the real space and the virtual space. A virtual reconstruction of an existing space is connected with the real space. Not only is there a connection from the real space into the virtual space, there is also a connection from the virtual space back into the real space.
The installation allows visitors in the real space and avatars from visitors in the virtual space to connect and communicate with each other, which creates an experience of being in a new, third space, between virtual reality and real life.
The setup is presented as a playground. Different objects in the real space and in the virtual space trigger the communication between visitors in the real space and in the virtual space. The installation is looking for new ways of communication between different realities. At the same the installation is questioning our experiences of living in cyberspace of sharing different realities at the same time.
The first ideas and sketches for this installation date back to 1999. Recently the installation has been created in an old farm in a small village in Austria. In this latest setup not only virtual reality and real life are connected, also elements from the traditional farm life in the village are combined with modern views and technology, thus connecting also past and present as different realities.
During ISEA2008 I would like to build up the installation and present it to the public via a performance. I would also like to invite the visitors to play with it, to interact with it. As part of the project i would like to discuss the experiences of navigating, being, living in different realities at the same time.
Alternatively, the installation can also be presented as a lecture-presentation only, followed by a discussion.
