"Metaverse Time Capsule": reminiscing the past in the digital realm
Chinese artist Jiahe Zhao's installation, "Cybertime Capsule," offers a journey into a nostalgic, digitized world. This immersive experience, set at the 7th edition of the Recto VRso festival from April 11-14, invites participants to step into a minimalist bedroom brimming with memories.
The Bedroom of MemoriesTransformed into a personal living archive, participants wear a virtual reality headset and find themselves in the midst of the room. Upon entering, they are placed on a bed, a nod to the virtual bedroom they virtually inhabit. The artist, Jiahe Zhao, digitized hundreds of objects evoking personal memories to create this experience. In the virtual room, these memories are transformed into particles, initiating a nostalgic and poetic journey.
Artistic Immortality and the Disappearance of PossessionBy immortalizing personal memories in 3D, Jiahe Zhao creates a unique fusion of reality and the virtual world. The notion of possession vanishes as users become immersed in a personal universe other than their own, blurring the boundaries between the tangible and the virtual, between real time and cybertime.
Cybertime vs Real-timeWithin "Cybertime Capsule," there are multiple temporalities. The past is brought to life through the memories in the room and immortalized by 3D digitization. The present is the time of the experience, the time the participant lives in when immersed in this room. The future is embodied by the medium itself, virtual reality, which transports the participants into a virtual world, the metaverse.
Merging WorldsThe presence of the bed at the start of the experience blurs the boundaries between the real and the virtual. The user is immersed in the virtual universe with the VR headset, yet is also sitting on something tangible. Two worlds overlap and merge, blurring our perception of the present (the experience) and the past (the virtual world).
Inspiration from Behavior ArtJiahe Zhao drew inspiration from Behavior Art for the creation of "Cybertime Capsule." This creative process, based on artists' habits, aims to open viewers to what they can discover beyond what they see. With this installation, Zhao poses questions about our future existence, tied to being continuously connected in a world where memories mingle with real-time discussions, where the tangible is superimposed on the virtual, and where virtual and real time become one.
Experience "Cybertime Capsule" at the 7th edition of the Recto VRso festival from April 11-14, 2024.
In the coming 2024 edition of the Recto VRso festival, attendees can expect to dive into Jiahe Zhao's immersive installation "Cybertime Capsule," blending their lifestyles with technology and artificial intelligence. The home-and-garden setting, a minimalist bedroom, becomes a fusion of reality and the virtual world, where memories are transformed into digital art and participants interact with these 3D creations, merging the boundaries between real and virtual worlds.
