In the process of constructing the Air Morphologies VR prototype with our collaborators artsXR, we had fruitful conversations about how we might depart from immersive and gamified tropes of the medium. Our aim was to create an experience that would be a contemplative, critical and creative engagement with techno-scientific questions around air pollution. We began by focusing on sculpting and modelling particles based on scientific microscopy imaging. Our collaborator Kristina Thiele from artsXR applied her aesthetic skills to build particles that appeared solid and textured with layers of light and glow that made them shimmer. We focused on a ‘fly ash’ particle produced by coal burning power plants and researched the composition, chemical elements, causes and health effects of the particle. In the studio we started to ask questions about how we might story, narrate or deploy information about the particle into the artwork in a compelling yet informative way. We thought about the particle telling its story and imagined what voice it might have, what sounds it would make, what questions it would ask. We developed a layering voice effect mixed with stethoscopic recordings of lungs and sounds of industrial combustion. The film clip gives an insight into the prototype which we plan to develop into a finished artwork.

Film credit

Film clip from VR artwork, Air Morphologies, Matterlurgy in collaboration with artsXR