PARADOX PARK (2023)
Currently in production.
Paradox Park attempts a poetic framing the many paradoxes springing from western civilization’s complex yet frail life style, all driven and sustained by digital technology. For instance, we all understand that earth’s climate is irreversibly transforming, yet we stand by, frozen with anxiety and denial, doing little to nothing about it. Whether economically, ecologically, sociologically, or politically, we know that things are headed into dangerous, uncharted waters. We know we must act fast to survive, but can’t seem to break old habits.
Reflecting this state of collective worry and unease, I envision Paradox Park as a virtual sculpture park scenario populated by a number of trapped avatar protagonists, that seem to be stuck in a mire. Monumental human heads and whole body human avatars, 3D captured & animated, are set in a featureless void, glued onto a barren ground plane or hanging midair. These avatars appear to be “alive,” fueled by AI logic, passing through raw emotions and mood transformations that occur over time, responding to visitors (or not), depending on set conditions, but nevertheless programmed to act unpredictably.
The heads and figures in this virtual installation and performance are ephemeral, malleable and unstable. They are both figuratively and authentically human as much as being reanimated, reorganized, code-based beings. They emit sounds - somewhere in-between a human voice and amorphous ambient textures: part murmuring, part fragmented speech, part singing, part screaming, at times just humming. Their set of behaviors range from nervous to agitated, apathetic to emotional, often switching back and forth in rapid succession. Real-world visitors, to this world can move from one protagonist to the next. Placed in an irregular matrix, they are grouped in clusters, in a series of lit oases that stretch into the distance.
Currently in production.
Paradox Park attempts a poetic framing the many paradoxes springing from western civilization’s complex yet frail life style, all driven and sustained by digital technology. For instance, we all understand that earth’s climate is irreversibly transforming, yet we stand by, frozen with anxiety and denial, doing little to nothing about it. Whether economically, ecologically, sociologically, or politically, we know that things are headed into dangerous, uncharted waters. We know we must act fast to survive, but can’t seem to break old habits.
Reflecting this state of collective worry and unease, I envision Paradox Park as a virtual sculpture park scenario populated by a number of trapped avatar protagonists, that seem to be stuck in a mire. Monumental human heads and whole body human avatars, 3D captured & animated, are set in a featureless void, glued onto a barren ground plane or hanging midair. These avatars appear to be “alive,” fueled by AI logic, passing through raw emotions and mood transformations that occur over time, responding to visitors (or not), depending on set conditions, but nevertheless programmed to act unpredictably.
The heads and figures in this virtual installation and performance are ephemeral, malleable and unstable. They are both figuratively and authentically human as much as being reanimated, reorganized, code-based beings. They emit sounds - somewhere in-between a human voice and amorphous ambient textures: part murmuring, part fragmented speech, part singing, part screaming, at times just humming. Their set of behaviors range from nervous to agitated, apathetic to emotional, often switching back and forth in rapid succession. Real-world visitors, to this world can move from one protagonist to the next. Placed in an irregular matrix, they are grouped in clusters, in a series of lit oases that stretch into the distance.
