Empire features a three-screen animation of a virtual monument running the “course of empire,” inspired by the paintings made by Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole’s series. For the piece, Hart also created a performance featuring the Empire music composer Ella Joyce Buckley as an extension of her world. Empire consisted of a four-screen continuous surround animation of a virtual monument running the “course of empire.” It is inspired by the 1836 paintings of Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole’s series. This piece uses a cenotaph drawn by Étienne-Louis Boullée the 18th-century French visionary architect as its source. It slowly decays and morphs from pink to blue, from sunrise to sunset. Camera motion is a slow zoom, direction z.