When COVID-19 disrupted the prospect of graduate shows as we know them, the University of the Arts London (UAL) faced a huge dilemma. Cancelling was not an option, the University had to find a solution—and fast. UAL partnered with IBM as a rapid response to the coronavirus pandemic to create a platform to host the final collections of graduating students. The end result was the UAL Graduate Showcase—a curated and richly layered digital platform. The University of the Arts London (UAL) MA Graduate Showcase launched on 8th October 2020. Graduates were faced with the challenge of adapting their work to a virtual environment and within the constraints of the IBM platform.
BRIEF:
Upload either:
- a selected project, e.g. your Final Major Project or an outcome of a particular unit, or
- a series of smaller projects that form a cohesive narrative and make a clear statement about your creative practice.
- Use a maximum of 5 pages to present your work using the preset page templates
- File types supported: JPG, PNG, GIF, embedded video (YouTube, Vimeo), embedded sound (Soundcloud), 3D (Sketchfab), PDF
YEAR:
2020
PROJECT NAME: CYBERDELIC
'Cyberdelic' was a term coined to describe the fusion of cyberculture and psychedelic counterculture in the 1980s and 1990s. This movement was a utopian vision that embraced technology as a means to create transcendental experiences and positive social change.
This project was developed in direct response to lockdown restrictions, and the need to exhibit in a virtual environment, rather than a physical show. This provided the opportunity to more deeply explore the relationship between technology and altered states of consciousness.
WORKS EXHIBITED:
Welcome to Cyberdelic.
VR experience, 2020
Presented in the showcase as a video render with a link to the interactive VR experience.
This immersive web experience is best enjoyed using Chrome on a laptop/desktop, with headphones/earphones and a mouse. Follow the link below, press play to start. Use the mouse to look around and to go deeper. It may take a few moments to load. So take this time to make yourself comfortable. To access go to http://www.mavisualarts.com/danielle-jacques-space/ VR development by Aristotle Roufanis. Music courtesy of Simpl_Machine
Turn On, Boot Up, Jack In, II
Digital Collage, 2020
Cyberdelic prophet and psychedelic advocate Timothy Leary described the PC as the "LSD of the 90s" and advised bohemians to "turn on, boot up, jack in".
One of a series of nine, this digital collage work was created in Adobe Photoshop using Shambala Art principles. Embedded into Welcome to Cyberdelic their luminescent pulse is synonymous with breathing - a visual hallucination typical of the psychedelic state.
Cyberdelic
Video, 35m07s
This film uses perspective and reflection to explore how our mind constructs our understanding of space. Viewers are invited to engage with their awareness contemplating perception, reality and illusion. Viewers are invited to TAKE THE SURVEY to find out whether they entered an altered state of consciousness.
The below video sets out the creative process followed over the 3 years in the making of Welcome to Cyberdelic.
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