The Pond, 2023
15 minutes, 24 ft. 3-wall projection, augmented reality displayed on a 49” plasma television, 5 video displays, holographic display, 60” cut out inkjet prints, artificial plants, soil
Augmented reality programming assistance: Milo Reinhardt, Ahmed Drebika, Teo Zamudio
Sound: Philippe Lambert
Curator: Ji-Yoon Han
The Pond is an interactive multimedia installation that seeks to reimagine and provide an alternate version to the diorama often seen in natural history museums. Through themes of mimicry and evolution, the exhibition explores and exposes the various nuanced artificial elements often concealed in the traditional presentation of dioramas, making commentary on the exploitative notions that the diorama unintentionally conveys. Using augmented reality, large scale video projection, multi-screen video, immersive sound, a holographic display, and inkjet prints, The Pond mirrors the complex multi-layered artifice inherent in traditional dioramas in order to create the illusion of a speculative pond ecosystem, populated with hybrid creatures, inviting viewers to explore the intricate interplay between human-made environments and the natural world while challenging our understanding of what is “natural”.
The immersive installation draws inspiration from psychologist Peter H. Kahn’s essay, “The Human Relation with Nature and Technological Nature,” which explores the impact of replacing natural environments with technological ones as a response to the potential collapse of the natural world, which would lead to not only physical, but major psychological consequences. This concept, referred to by Kahn as "technological nature” describes any technologies that attempt to mediate, augment, or simulate the natural world.
Supported by MOMENTA Biennale de l’image and RBC Foundation’s Emerging Artist Grant.
The Pond premiered at the 18th edition of MOMENTA Biennale de l’image.
