Lost in a Dreamscape
Ani Dalal
Webgl platform
Keywords: Dreams, Schizo Media, 3D Interaction, Game, Experience.
"Lost in a dreamscape" represents the immersive possibilities of the virtual space by the construction of an artificial dreamscape, a surreal virtual environment, that the users can explore. The work is driven towards the emulation of the feeling of being lost as if in a dream or a maze or scrolling through social media platforms (doomscroll), representing the meta reality, material reality and virtual reality that all of us engage with on a daily basis.
To achieve that, the process started with a simple question: 'What do you dream about?'. The question was circulated as a google form that asked its users what emotion they related their dreams with and what were their dreams like? The responses to which were then extracted in the form of material artefacts belonging to their dreams for example the spider, the chair or any of the different objects that you get to see in the digital environment.
3D models of the corresponding artefacts were then collected from open archives of 3D models and composed in this virtual 3D space with the use of the Webgl platform [cables.gl]. The entire platform was supposed to be a schizo media where everything is a node. All of the 3D objects either occur as a standalone object or is hyperlinked to something else, ranging from a time counter that tells users how much time you have spent in the dreamscape, other worlds, some denote fragmented ideas whereas some denote an archive of news clippings from the past year, indicative of the mental state while being awake. There is also an audio reactive camera that is a reflection of the user themselves in that virtual space, indicative of the reverse feedback as well.
Hence the user ends up in a random maze, feeling lost as one goes through some of the experiences that both surprise and scare the users. As soon as the 3D objects start acting as a hyperlink there is a departure from the two-dimensional interaction modality that we engage with in our daily life, hinting at the possibility of richer and more immersive digital experiences.
"Lost in a Dreamscape" was created as part of ‘Fissure’ curated by Shaleen Wadhwana for Virtual Nursery (2020-21) by Pollinator.
The Future Vision Online Exhibition was available from 11 February to 11 March 2021.
What you find here is a fleeting glimpse of the 21 works – or in better words, 21 future visions – coming from artists, designers, researchers, professionals, and students who explored complex questions from a critical and creative perspective.
We extend our warmest thanks to everyone who participated in the PCD21.
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